Zombies? You've gotta be kidding me
by Beloved Pearl
Summary: I thought it would be my typical Monday routine...boy was I wrong. My life was never gonna be the same. Leon x OC. If you don't like this sorta stuff then don't read.
1. Holy Shit

Hey! =) I thought I'd go all fan-girl and do a self-insert fic. I know not everybody likes them but I just want to try it out. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1 – Holy Shit

"Amy! You're gonna be late if you don't get up now!"

"Mmm…In a minute…" I groaned.

"It's eight o'clock! Lecturers don't go to work for you to roll in an hour late!"

"Alright, alright! I'm getting up!"

It was Monday morning and as usual I'd "forgot" to set my alarm hoping that my Mam would sleep in too and I'd get to stay in bed…But no, there she was bellowing my name up the stairs as usual. I rolled outta bed and stumbled out of my room and walked along the landing to the bathroom, turned the shower on and stepped inside. The water felt so nice that I just stood there for about ten minutes not even attempting to move, after a few more screams of my name I decided to get my arse into gear and get ready properly. After my shower I did my hair, chucked a bit of mascara on and got to picking out some clothes. I looked out the window, it was a nice day; sunny and no wind which was always a bonus, so I decided on a black vest top, faded blue skinny jeans and my favourite shoes in the whole wide world; my black and white hi-top converse . Half an hour later I arrived downstairs all dressed and ready to go. I grabbed my toast and my bag on the way out of the door and jogged to my car.

I drove as far as the corner before I realised I'd left my phone at home. "Shit! Now I'm definitely never gonna make it on time." I turned round and sped back home and charged through the door, grabbed my phone, said goodbye to my Mam and off I went…Again!

I glanced at my watch whilst driving and realised it was ten to nine. "Fuck." I pushed down harder on the accelerator and started speeding. It only took twenty-five minutes to get into town and after parking up I practically sprinted towards the School of Health and Social Care building, hoping that my lecturer was in a good mood this morning…_"Not likely." _I thought to myself. I was running past the library when I suddenly realised something. _"That's odd, where is everyone? There were cars in the car park but there are no people…oh well, they must already be I there. Run faster!" _ I got to the front doors and barged in, dropping my phone during the process, I bent down to pick it up and jogged straight to my lecture theatre door, not bothering to look around. I walked in; half expecting to be sent back out for being half an hour late, but there was no one there. I noticed a few books on the desks but that was it.

"What the..?" _"Where is everyone?"_ "Hello?"…no reply.

I walked over to the timetable on the wall and saw that my class hadn't been changed, so people should be here. _"Must be on a break" _I thought. I decided to go take a seat and wait for them to return. As I walked past the front desk I saw the register; everyone except me had signed it so they must've been here somewhere. I plonked myself down on the front row and glanced around, I hadn't noticed when I'd walked in but papers were scattered everywhere, people's bags were left unattended and then I noticed there was a strange smell in the air. "_Urgh, smells like someone's dropped one! Think they need their stomach seeing to, that smells rotten!" _I decided to go get some air whilst I waited for the people to come back so I stood up and walked to the door, stepping outside I gasped.

I looked around the foyer and couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was blood EVERYWHERE, I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed this when I walked in just a few moments before. Although I knew the blood shouldn't have been there, it wasn't the blood that particularly shocked me; what with me studying to be a nurse and all, it was the severed arms and guts I could see strewn about. There were bloody handprints streaked across the white walls and shoes lying about; some with feet still attached to them, the blood looked fresh. By this point the smell was repulsive and I covered my mouth with my hand to try and keep my toast down. I don't know how long I stood there in shock but I was snapped out of it by someone grabbing my shoulder, the sudden contact made me jump and spin around. It was my lecturer, except half of his mouth had been ripped off, he had an ear missing and various chunks of his body and clothes were torn away, his ankle was bent at such an angle it just had to be broken. I screamed and yanked my shoulder from his grip then backed off as fast as I could, never taking my eyes off him. A strange sound was emitting from his mouth, like a gurgling groan. Now I'm no expert but I've seen enough horror films and games to know what was lumbering towards me with his arms outstretched and his guts hanging out. A zombie.

As this thought ran through my head I completely freaked out. As a child my only fear was zombies, heck as an adult my only fear was zombies! Call it an after effect of being babysat by my older brother from an early age and watching him play games like Resident Evil and watching films like Dawn of the Dead. Scarred me for life. Even though now they were my favourite kind of film and game, I still found myself to this day sprinting across my room to my bed after turning the light off just in case a zombie grabbed me, I would never sleep with my arm or leg hanging off the bed in case something decided to take a chunk out of it, and every time I entered a room I'd glance at the ceiling to check for Lickers. But I never actually thought it would come true!

I was snapped back to reality when "Simon"; or should I say "Ex-Simon", was getting uncomfortably close to me.

"Shit, I need a weapon." I told myself.

I quickly glanced around and spotted the canteen. _"There'll be knives in the canteen surely."_

I started sprinting towards the kitchens, dodging various body parts as I went, also keeping my eye out for any more of those things; there were bound to be more around, those arms, legs and guts obviously belonged to someone. I quickly but quietly snuck through the door to the canteen, there was food all over the floor mixed in with blood. I looked away starting to feel slightly nauseated by the smell of what I now knew was rotting flesh and blood. I knew Simon would have followed me to the canteen so I had to act quickly, my eyes darted around the room trying to find a decent weapon. Just as I spotted a butcher's knife hanging on the wall I heard the door creak open and that all too familiar sound of shuffling feet. I turned around and spotted Simon stumbling into the kitchen.

"Shit! Amy pull yourself together!" I told myself.

I grabbed the nearest thing to me and lobbed it at his head; it just so happens a lettuce isn't a very effective weapon against a flesh-eating zombie.

"Fuck! Shit! Bastard!" I started reeling off a load of swear words as I started to panic. I dodged myself around dead Simon and ran over to the butcher's knife; I picked it up and turned back to Simon to deal with him when I almost dropped the knife in shock. In the seconds it took me to get to the knife three more zombies had ambled their way into the kitchen; probably from overhearing my little outburst. _"Note to self: Do not start shouting and attracting attention to yourself whilst in a zombie apocalypse."_ Now I really was panicking, I knew I couldn't handle four zombies with only a knife so I had to think of something else and fast. That's when I spotted the food counter shutters open, I moved as fast as I could and leapt over it and off the other safe from the four zombies…and right into the path of about another thirty.

"Oh shit."


	2. The Great Escape

I'd like to thank _n8tivegurl _for her reviews on this story and my other story _Blast from the Past_, I really appreciate your support =)

Chapter 2 – The Great Escape

"How am I gonna get out now?" I sighed to myself.

The zombies were planted right between me and the entrance to the building; they must have wandered out of the other lecture theatres, to my left the four zombies from the kitchen were also crawling over the counter to get to me. I had to think fast. I glanced around and eyed a flight of stairs behind me leading to the next floor; I took off at full speed, dodging and swerving bloody, half chewed hands that were grasping for me. As I reached the stairs I swung round the banister and started running up them two steps at a time; which is fairly easy for me considering I'm 5'11 with really long legs. I got to the top and skimmed around me, I spotted the elevator which would take me back downstairs but I'd end up on the other side of the zombies nearer to my exit. I walked forward and pressed the down button, I stood waiting for a few seconds when I heard shuffling again, I turned around and there was a girl walking towards me, I couldn't be sure but I thought she looked familiar; it was kinda hard to tell when she had blood smeared all over her and chunks of her face and body missing and her long black hair was coated to her face with congealed blood. She strolled a bit closer and I caught a glimpse of a silver locket she was wearing. That's when I realised who she was, she was from my class and a good friend; it was Jess. I gasped and tears started to form in my eyes, this was the first person/zombie I'd encountered that I actually knew personally. The elevator was taking far too long and Jess was getting closer. I looked at the knife in my hand and I knew what I had to do, I couldn't leave her like this. I stepped closer to her and swiftly swerved around to the back of her, bringing the knife down into her cranium as I did. I wasn't prepared for the sickening noise it made as I did so, or how tough it would be to retrieve my knife from her skull. As she fell lifeless to the floor I dropped to my knees and threw up, I knew it was only a matter of time before this happened but having to kill; or technically re-kill, a good friend of mine was just too much, it was the last straw. I looked around me and checked there were no more zombies creeping up on me before breaking down into sobs; I couldn't take in what was happening. _"What the fuck is going on!"_ My mind screamed to itself. As I was getting to my feet again; I noticed blood smudged across the white tiled floor leading to different rooms suggesting the other people had taken refuge in various rooms, that's when I heard thudding and scraping against the doors, also suggesting they'd become zombies and were now stuck in the rooms. I didn't hang around to find out as the elevator finally arrived and pinged open. I stood back and waited for a couple of seconds to see if anything came out, nothing did. I walked forward and looked inside, double checking the ceiling; again there was blood smeared everywhere but there was nothing undead. I stepped inside and pressed the down button, feeling nervous and shifting my weight from side to side, bracing myself for the onslaught of zombies waiting for me on the ground floor.

When the elevator stopped I took a deep breath and the doors pinged opened, the sound of the ping obviously attracted more unwanted attention. A group of about six zombies stood nearest to the door started sauntering towards me, I knew I couldn't win in a fight against that many so I shot out the elevator and ran for the exit, hearing the groans starting to fade behind me but I never slowed my speed. I needed to get out. As I burst out the doors I kept running as fast as I could, noticing all around campus zombies stumbling about. I felt in my pocket for my keys and felt nothing suddenly realising I'd left everything in my bag back in the lecture theatre.

"SHIT! SHIT SHIT!"

I started jumping up and down on the spot throwing a tantrum till I heard groans again, looking around I saw every zombie in the vicinity walking in my direction. I'd done it again; attracted unwanted attention to myself with my little outburst. I sighed and began to run again. I could start to feel a stitch coming on; I mean I wasn't unfit but I was certainly not used to running for my life so much. I decided the safest place to run to would be the police station; I know cliché right but what else could I do? At least there I could try and call my Mam to see if she was okay. I set off in the direction of it and hoped I could make it that far. It was right on the other side of town and if I not mistaken, surely there would be hundreds of those things wandering around the city centre. I got about fifty feet when I noticed an abandoned motorbike on its side with the keys in the ignition.

"Guess it's my lucky day."

I had a brother who was into motorbikes and luckily he'd taught me how to ride from an early age. I hoisted the bike up and set myself on the seat, starting the engine and off I went. As I rode through the town weaving in between zombies; and there actually wasn't that many of them around, abandoned cars and various body parts, I looked around at the buildings, some were on fire, most of them had the front windows smashed in and doors were hanging on their hinges. It was like a bomb had hit. As I neared the police station the destruction seemed to get worse, it was so bad in fact that I had to leave the bike behind and try to climb my way over cars, buses and trucks to get to the road where the police station was. _"Everyone must have had the same idea as me. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."_ When I got to the end of the street opposite to the police station I stared up the street. Now I realised why there wasn't many zombies around town, they were all surrounding the police station; banging on the gates to get into the compound. I groaned and decided I'd have to go somewhere else, maybe the hospital, or just anywhere that wasn't overrun with zombies and had a working phone. I turned around and started running back towards the centre of town, just as I was sprinting round a corner I spotted a phone box across the street, I felt into my back pocket and felt some change; enough for a call to my Mam as well. I took off towards the phone box, stepping into the road without checking for traffic; well who would in this situation? That's when I heard the loud horn, I spun around and flung my arms over my face as a black SUV came careering towards me. Everything went black.


	3. Where's my Mam?

Thank you for the reviews =) and I've just realised I totally forgot to put a disclaimer haha.

I don't own any of the characters in this story except me =D, Capcom has that privilege.

Chapter 3 – Where's my Mam?

I slowly came round; squinting as a bright light blinded me. My head was pounding as I moved to cover my eyes with my right hand and felt something tug on it, I looked at the back of my hand and noticed an IV wire sticking out of it, I glanced down and saw I was dressed in what looked like a hospital gown and I was hooked up to an ECG machine. "_A hospital?" _ I ran my hands through my hair instantly recoiling back when I noticed how dirty it felt. _"Urgh...I need a shower badly."_ I was just about to reach for the buzzer to my right when I heard a man's voice mumbling incoherently, I turned my head to the left so fast I almost heard my neck snap.

"Mmm…Yeah, just like that…Mmm…Perfect…"

There was a great bulk of a man slumped down in the visitors chair. _"How did I not notice him? Who the hell is he? And what on earth is he talking about?...Actually, I don't think I want to know…" _He was broad shouldered, very muscular and had messy, spiky brown hair and a slight bit of stubble, he looked tired and worn but still attractive at the same time. I took the time to take in his attire; he was wearing a green military style top and had light stone coloured combat trousers on with hiking boots. I frowned to myself as I got the feeling I'd seen him before but I couldn't pinpoint where. I noticed a badge on his sleeve and was about to read it, when he began to stir again.

"Mmm…Jill…You are an amazing…"

I held my breath. _"Jill? Does he mean my Mam?...Oh no, please don't be having a dirty dream about my mam!"_ The look of horror dropped from my face when he spoke again.

"…Sandwich maker…"

I breathed a sigh of relief; _"That could've been awkward."_ The man stopped mumbling and began to snore. I was about to wake him and ask what the hell he was doing in my room when the door opened and a woman walked in carrying two polystyrene cups of coffee. She was about 5'9, slim and had shoulder length medium brown hair. She closed the door with her foot and turned towards me; she froze when she saw me looking at her. _"Where have I seen her before too?" _A few seconds passed and then she spoke.

"Hey."

"_She's American?" _"Hi." I managed to croak out; jeez my throat was dry.

"How're you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a truck and reversed back over again."

"You kinda were…Besides the reversing." She smiled at me weakly.

I just looked at her blankly wondering what the hell she was talking about.

"I'll get the doctor to come and check on you, you've been unconscious for quite a while." She put the cups down on the table at the end of my bed and quietly slipped out the door.

"_Okay, what the fuck is going on here? First I wake up in a hospital with wires all over me, secondly I find a strange man sat next to my bed, thirdly an American woman just waltzed into my room like she owned the joint and lastly where have I seen them before? Who are these people?"_

My thoughts were interrupted when a doctor entered the room with Jill following closely behind.

"Good morning Miss…Erm, we don't appear to have your name on our records…Okay then, never mind. I understand you've just came round from a coma?" _"He's American too?" _He marched over to the heart monitor besides the bed and started writing things down on my chart.

"_A coma?"_ "Erm…A co..." My voice sounded so weak.

"Everything seems fine here. I'm gonna leave you to recover properly and I'll be back to check on you later." With that he swiftly took off.

"_Huh?" _I laid there confused. I looked towards Jill who was stood at the end of my bed looking at me; I then looked to Chris who was still sound asleep. I cleared my throat.

"Did I hear correctly? Did he say a coma?" I rasped out.

"Yea, he did. Give me two minutes to wake sleeping beauty up over there and we'll explain everything to you."

The woman walked over to the sleeping lump and gently started shaking him. "Chris…Chris, wake up."

"Mmm…Yeah, the sandwich was great Jill…"

"_Who's this Jill he keeps talking about?"_

The woman sighed and smacked the man across the back of the head. He woke with a start.

"What! What happened!" He was frantically looking around the room, his eyes wide with shock.

"It's okay Chris, calm down. But our patient has woken up; she has some questions for us."

The man apparently called Chris looked at me; he had cool blue eyes with an intense stare. He stood up alongside the woman; he seemed to tower over her at about 6'3.

"Uhh…Hey. My name's Chris and this is Jill." He gestured to the lady next to him. _"Ahh, the mysterious Jill...Wait, did he say Chris and Jill?...No fucking way."_

"What's your name?"

"Amy. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude but…do I know you two? You seem awfully familiar…Like really familiar." _"Ahh, fuck it, just ask them. Blame the medication if they think you sound crazy." _ "This is gonna sound crazy but are you guys from Resident Evil? What the hell is going on?"

The two strangers looked at each other knowingly, then back at me. Jill was the next to speak.

"Amy…Well that's a start. Can you tell us what you remember yourself before we start explaining?"

I paused, thinking for a moment; trying to remember how I ended up in hospital. Memories started to come back in flashes.

"I remember it was Monday morning, the third of May to be exact. I got up, did my usual routine, went to university and…"

An image shot through my head, it was of Simon, except he was a…Zombie? _"What the..? What drugs have they been pumping into me? This is some crazy shit." _More images flashed through my head, I couldn't comprehend what I was remembering; it just couldn't be right, could it? This was surely one massive, messed up dream and I'd wake up back at home in my own bed.

"And…?" Chris prompted me.

"And…Don't look at me like I'm crazy but I'm remembering zombies for some reason…It must be the drugs. I can't remember what really happened." My head started to throb even more from trying to remember everything.

Chris and Jill gave that look to each other again then they both looked back to me with a soft look on their tired faces.

"_I know that look. That look is pity."_

"I am just dosed up to the eyeballs on drugs aren't I? Zombies didn't really overrun my town, my lecturer didn't try to eat me and I didn't really kill one of my best friends with a butcher's knife from the university canteen?"

"Ermm…"

Chris and Jill looked at each other clueless.

"Wait, something else is coming back… I ran to the police station, but it was surrounded by zombies then I…Hang on, did I get hit by a truck!

I shot up in bed, instantly regretting it after my headache got ten times worse. I groaned and flopped back down. I opened one eye and looked at Chris who was smiling at me sheepishly.

"That explains why I'm in hospital I suppose."

"Are you okay, Amy? Jill asked.

"I'm just super, thanks. Now would you mind explaining who you two are, what's happened and where's my Mam?"

When I didn't get a reply I opened both eyes, sat up slowly and looked at them expectantly.

"Well…It all began when…" Chris was cut short by Jill.

"I'll tell her Chris. I think it would sound better coming from me, you're useless at this kind of stuff. Go and grab a fresh coffee."

Chris seemed to give Jill a grateful look before looking back to me and offering a small smile. "I'll be back soon."

Once Chris was gone, Jill pulled the visitors chair closer to my bed and sat down. She fidgeted with her hands as she started speaking.

"Amy, I've got some bad news to tell you…There was an incident and as you know a viral outbreak occurred."

"The T-Virus." I interrupted.

Jill paused and looked at me. "Yea, how'd you know that?"

"I've seen enough zombie films and played enough zombie games to know that. My particular favourite is the Resident Evil franchise…Are you really Jill Valentine? And is he really Chris Redfield?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so."

"Wow." I couldn't stop myself from feeling slightly awestruck. I know I should have been feeling horrified that this was all happening…But this was THE Jill Valentine and THE Chris Redfield.

"Chris looks even more intimidating in real life, and you look much taller." I blurted out.

Jill chuckled to herself. "Yeah he does and thanks. Anyway, the virus was released in your town as a terrorist attack. We haven't yet established who is responsible for it but we have a pretty good idea."

"Umbrella." I interrupted her again. "Sorry, carry on."

"Yeah, you're right again. As to how you got here well the B.S.A.A had been called to England to investigate the incident and…we're really sorry but you just ran out in front of our truck and Chris couldn't stop in time."

"_The emblem on Chris's arm…"_

"You ran me over?"

"Well…technically Chris did, but yeah it was us. Sorry again." Jill looked embarrassed and looked away.

"I was attempting to get to the phone box on the other side of the street; I left my phone in my bag back at the university when I was trying to escape. I was about to ring my Mam to see if she was okay…Where is she anyway? Can I see her yet?"

Jill stared at the floor not answering me.

"Jill?"

"Amy, you're Mom isn't here. If you hadn't picked up on it by now we're in America."

"_That would explain the American accents." _

"America! Awesome I always wanted to come here! My Mam and I always talked of shopping in New York at Christmas time. She's called Jill too you know?...Huh, did you say she's not here?"

"When you ran in front of our truck you were badly injured but not dead, we knew we couldn't just leave you there to die so we took you back to base with us, that's when we noticed you had no identification on you so we couldn't call your parents. A day after we returned to base we heard news of how fast the virus was spreading, there was no coming back from that so the British and American government came to the mutual decision…To nuke England like they did Raccoon City to contain the virus. We decided to bring you back to America with us for treatment before we fired the nuke at England…I'm sorry but your family is dead. That was three months ago now. You've been in a coma since we brought you to America, we've been keeping a bedside vigil just in case you woke up and wondered where you were so you weren't on your own…Amy, I am so very sorry."


	4. I'm With You

I'd like to thank _n8tivegurl _and _PurebloodPrincess09 _for their reviews on this story, your feedback is much appreciated =)

There are also going to be song lyrics in this chapter from _Avril Lavigne's_ song: _I'm With You._

Chapter 4 – I'm With You

"Amy? Say something, please?"

"_Say something…" _I stared blankly at Jill. I couldn't fathom any words to say to her, it just wasn't registering in my head what she'd just told me. Her words bounced around inside my head, not seeming to sink in. _"I'm sorry, but your family is dead." _I simply pulled the blankets back and tried to swing my legs off the bed; yanking the IV wire from my arm and ripping the ECG pads from my chest, not caring about the pain. Jill jumped up to try and stop me, trying to gently coax me back into bed. I shoved her arm away and saw a hurt/concerned look on her face; I just looked away and carried on trying to stand up. Of course as soon as my bare feet touched the cold floor, my legs gave way; my muscles felt weak and my legs like jelly from lack of use. I didn't even attempt to move from my crumpled state on the floor, I saw Jill run around the bed trying to hoist me up. As I lay there in her arms; my vision going hazy, I saw the door open and a blurry figure run to my side. I could hear Chris and Jill's voices shouting for help and the alarms from the disconnected heart monitor ringing in my ears, before darkness took over me once again…

"What are we gonna do with her, Jill? We can't look after her, we don't even know her. For all we know she could be an axe-murderer."

"Don't be stupid, Chris. She's a young woman who's just been told her entire world is gone, we can't just abandon her too, you saw how she reacted to me telling her what happened; she passed out with shock! She also told me she's never even been to America before so we can't leave her to fend for herself. Imagine if Claire was taken from you; your only family, How lost would you feel?"

I opened my eyes slowly and saw Chris and Jill standing at the end of my bed, arguing in hushed voices. Chris had his arms folded and a stern look on his face whilst Jill had her arms out in front of her pleadingly. Chris gritted his teeth and let out a long sigh.

"Fine, I'll get the B.S.A.A to arrange care for her. No doubt they'll want to speak to her at some point anyway, find out what she saw."

Jill nodded and looked in my direction.

"Oh, you're awake. How're you feeling?"

I glared at both the agents staring at me intently, I was pretty pissed off that they were just going to offload me onto some strangers in the B.S.A.A when the only people I remotely knew in this country, were stood at the end of my bed.

"How do you think I'm feeling? My family, my friends and my country are all gone. I'm stuck in a foreign country with nobody I know and all I want is to just go home… And don't feel like you have to take care of me, I'll manage on my own."

"Amy, we didn't mean it like that. It's just it would be unprofessional of us to take you into our care." Chris countered.

"It's fine."

I shuffled up in my bed, getting into a sitting position. My head aching more than ever but my body didn't feel as weak as before. I looked at my clothes and noticed I was still wearing the tatty old hospital gown and noticed there were no wires attached to me this time.

"I'm feeling much better now. If you don't mind I'd like to get a shower and get dressed."

"Uhh…Sure, I guess that'll be okay. I'll be back in just a moment." Jill said before leaving the room.

The silence between Chris and I was deafening. I shifted uncomfortably in my bed and spotted a jug of water and a glass next to my bed. I poured one out for myself and drank it deeply till I was out of breath. _"God that feels good."_ I placed the empty glass back on the bedside table and continued sitting in silence till I couldn't take it anymore, I cleared my throat and spoke to Chris.

"How long was I out for this time?"

"Only a few hours. The doctors have given you the all clear but you passed out from shock it seems."

It still hadn't sunk in what Jill said to me earlier that day…Or it may have been night, there were no windows in my room so I couldn't tell. I decided I could focus on the grieving process after I'd been discharged and I got away from everyone. _"No way am I going with the B.S.A.A, I just need to get away and be on my own."_

Jill entered the room again with a bag in her hand.

"I got the nurse to find me a towel and some toiletries for your shower. She said you're welcome to go in anytime, it's free now actually. Your own clothes are in the cupboard besides your bed."

I nodded and attempted a second attempt at getting out of bed. I could see out the corner of my eye that Chris and Jill were ready to pounce in case I fell again, luckily I didn't. I placed my hand on the table next to the bed to balance myself and bent down to pick my clothes out of the bottom part. I started to move my legs, they felt a bit wobbly but nothing unbearable, I carried on walking slowly towards Jill until I reached her. I took the bag from her hand and asked where the shower was.

"Thanks."

I got to the shower room not far from my room and locked the door behind me, once in I turned around and looked at my reflection in the mirror above the sink. _"What the fuck." _My once shiny, short blonde hair was a lot darker and practically stuck to my head it was that dirty, my skin was pale and I had dark circles under my green eyes.

"I look like shit."

I placed the bag in the sink and moved over to the shower, turning it on and letting the water run whilst I started to remove my gown. I lifted it over my head and was shocked at what I saw in my reflection. I had a dark red scar running from just under my breasts to just past my belly button, my right leg had a nasty looking scar running from the top of my thigh to just above my knee and I had a small scar across my right collarbone. _"Guess that's what you get when you pick a fight with a SUV."_ I shook my head and stepped into the shower. I quickly grabbed the soap and shampoo and started scrubbing my body furiously, desperate to feel clean again. I noticed my hair felt longer as I ran my fingers through it washing the grease away. Once I was satisfied I was clean enough I let the hot water run down my back while I remembered the last time I had a shower, it had been back home in England the day my world came crashing down around me. Memories of my Mam screaming at me to hurry up were running through my head, what I'd have given to hear that voice now. I could feel myself welling up but I refused to cry until I was away from here and I felt I was able to without people feeling sorry for me, I hated being pitied. I was about to step out of the shower when I heard a knock at the door.

"Yeah?"

"It's only me, Amy. I was just wondering if you're okay in there?" Jill sounded concerned.

"I'm fine." My voice cracked. _"Don't cry now, Amy. Keep strong."_

My answer was met with silence before she spoke again.

"…Okay, we'll be waiting in your room for you." She didn't sound convinced.

I picked up the towel and wrapped it around my frail, scarred body, I'd lost weight whilst I was in a coma and I could feel every bone sticking out. _"I need a proper meal." _I turned to the sink and rummaged through the bag till I found the toothbrush and toothpaste, moving onto getting dressed once I was done. As I pulled my last piece of clothing on; my skinny jeans, I noticed even those were baggy on me. I sighed and proceeded to comb my wet hair, it looked blonde and glossy once again and it had grown a hell of a lot in three months, it was down to my chin now. Another memory of my mother flashed through my head of the day I'd got my hair cut short. _"I really like it Amy, you suit it but I prefer you with a bit of length, you suit it in a bob even more…"_ That was the last straw, something snapped inside me everything that had happened hit me like a ton of bricks. I jammed my feet into my converse before unlocking the door and sprinting down the corridor straight past my room. I didn't stop to see if Chris or Jill noticed; I just kept running as fast as my legs could carry me, keeping my eye on the fire exit sign the whole time. Nurses were giving me funny looks as I hurled past them; adrenaline surging through my body, a few shouted for me to stop running but I ignored them. Then I heard two familiar voices shouting my name.

"Amy! Wait! You don't even know where you're going!" I heard Jill cry.

I shut the voices out of my head and launched myself through the fire door; the sun dazzled me and caused me to almost fall down the first set of stairs on the fire escape but I caught myself on the banister, not waiting to regain my balance I pushed myself down the next set leading to the ground floor. I was already tearing round the corner towards the street when I heard the fire escape door slam open again above and behind me.

"Amy! Come back!" Chris yelled.

I kept running, turning round any corner I came to to make it harder for them to find me. I don't know how long I ran for but I didn't slow down till I couldn't hear their shouts anymore. I decreased my pace to a steady jog and eventually stopped, looking around frantically looking for a place to hide in case they found me, I caught sight of an alleyway and ran down it. I noticed a pile of boxes at the end and decided to hide behind them. As soon as I sat down I cracked, sobs racked my fragile frame until I couldn't breathe anymore and I greedily gulped in air and waited for the next onslaught of sobs. I must have sat there a while because it the sky started to darken and it began to rain on me. Soon after I felt the cold seeping through my clothes, I curled up into a ball trying to conserve heat. Exhausted from all my crying I started to feel tired and I must've dozed off because the next thing I heard was music coming from someone's apartment window above me.

_I'm standing on a bridge,_

_I'm waiting in the dark, _

_I thought that you'd be here by now._

_There's nothing but the rain,_

_No footsteps on the ground, _

_I'm listening but there's no sound._

I listened to the song as I laid there sobbing in the dark, cold alley. I figured Chris and Jill had stopped looking for me by now and I was contemplating getting up to try and find a place to stay when I realised how frozen I was, I could barely move.

_Isn't anyone trying to find me?_

_Won't somebody come take me home._

_It's a damn cold night,_

_Trying to figure out this life, _

_Won't you take me by the hand, _

_Take me somewhere new,_

_I don't know who you are,_

_But I…I'm with you,_

_I'm with you. _

I managed to drag myself into a sitting position and looked around; the road beyond the alley was quiet and deserted. It gave me the creeps but I had to find somewhere to stay so I wandered the few feet to the end and peeked around the corner, looking for anywhere that looked safe to go, I didn't have a clue where I was, I didn't even know what state I was in or anything. I was scared. I could hear the music playing behind me still.

_I'm looking for a place,_

_Searching for a face, _

_Is anybody here I know?_

'_Cause nothing's going right,_

_And everything's a mess,_

_And no one likes to be alone._

"_Maybe I shouldn't have run off like I did, going with the B.S.A.A might not have been so bad after all. Fuck, Amy! You're twenty years old and you ran away like a scared kid. What would your Mam think of you now?"_ I began to cry again at the thought of my Mam, I wanted to see her so badly, to have her say everything was going to be okay and give me a bad hug. I wanted her to tell me it was all a bad dream and it was all in my head.

_Oh why is everything so confusing?_

_Maybe I'm just out of my mind,_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah._

I sat down again at the edge of the alley; feeling lonely and lost, and listened to the song a bit more, the chorus was repeating in my head over and over. Suddenly the street light in front of me went dark, I thought it had gone out but when I looked up I realised I was wrong. There was a tall, muscular man stood in front of me blocking the light. I could see from the outline of his silhouette that he wasn't as muscular as Chris but had a more athletic build. I gasped in shock as he bent down and offered me his hand.

"You must be Amy, Chris and Jill called me to help look for you. You really shouldn't have run off like that, it's dangerous out here on a night, especially for one who doesn't know their way around." He spoke with a deep voice; the voice sent shivers down my spine although I didn't know why.

I gawped at the man stood in front of me, looking from his shadowed face, to his hand and back to his face again.

"Who are you?" I spoke, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Name's Leon S. Kennedy, nice to meet you."

I couldn't believe I was hearing this, I was caught between emotions; upset, shock and my girly feelings, it took all my strength to stop myself turning all fan-girl on him; he was my favourite Resident Evil character and I personally thought he was always the best looking. It was only upon closer inspection I noticed his blondey brown hair shining in the light; his bangs covered his eyes so I couldn't see them just yet. But if I could remember well enough from the games, they'd be blue. I gazed back down at his extended hand as I heard the song still playing the background.

_Take me by the hand, _

_Take me somewhere new,_

_I don't know who you are,_

_But I…I'm with you,_

_I'm with you._

Without thinking I put my hand in his and he grasped it tightly before pulling me up. I must've looked frozen because within seconds his brown leather jacket was draped snugly over my shoulders. I blushed slightly at the thought of wearing THE Leon S. Kennedy's jacket; it was warm and smelt of aftershave. Leon smelled better than I could have ever imagined. I forced myself to focus on the matter at hand and I let Leon lead me towards a shiny, black SUV. I shuddered at the memory of the last time I'd saw one of those and climbed into the passenger's seat through the door Leon held open for me. As I buckled up Leon climbed into the driver's seat.

"I'm taking you to Chris and Jill's house. While you were gone Jill had a right go at Chris blaming him for you running off, she wants you to stay with them… so is he the reason you took off? I know he can be a bit of a brute at times." Leon stared at me while he spoke; piercing blue eyes felt like they were penetrating my soul, they were even more stunning than I expected them to be; so warm and inviting.

"Umm…Not exactly…Well partly. I didn't want to be carted off to some strangers in the B.S.A.A while they questioned me; I'm not ready for that. And I also kinda wanted to stick with Chris and Jill, they were the only people I remotely knew, but Chris didn't want that. When I was in the shower room I just freaked out, everything hit me all at once you know?...I just needed some space. I didn't intend on getting lost but I should have realised that would happen. I'm sorry if I caused you any inconvenience."

Leon simply grinned a crooked grin that suited his face so much better than the serious expression he normally worn in the games and turned the key in the ignition.

"It's okay, I know what you mean…Come on, let's get you home."

"_Home…?"_

The rest of the drive back to Chris and Jill's was silent with only the radio playing quietly in the background. Every now and again I would steal a quick glance at Leon when I thought he wasn't looking; his black fitted top clung to his athletic muscles and it accentuated his broad shoulders nicely. It was too dark to see his abs but I knew they were there somewhere. My eyes wandered down to his jeans… _ "Wait, jeans?" _I had never seen Leon in jeans before. The jeans combined with the black t-shirt and his Nike trainers made him look almost like a normal citizen, even with the stoic expression plastered back on his face whilst he drove.

The drive took almost an hour and a half and I must've have dozed off again because the next thing I knew I was being lifted from my seat with the jacket still draped over me. I felt two strong arms wrap around my legs and torso and I heard the car door shut quietly. I opened my eyes to see Leon's face above mine staring straight ahead as he walked towards a house; a very nice house to be exact, it looked to have about four bedrooms and of the two I could see at the front of the house, they had balconies aswell. I stopped gazing at the house realised I was still in Leon's arms. I panicked and started to stutter.

"Uh…Um…Cou...Could you p-put me down please?"

Leon looked down to my face and laughed nervously.

"Uh…Sorry…ha-ha. I thought you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you."

He placed me carefully on the ground and looked away scratching the back of his head with his hand. If I wasn't mistaken I'd say Leon S. Kennedy was embarrassed. I couldn't help but smile at his boyish antics.

"It's okay, thank you anyway."

We walked up to the front door and stood side by side, Leon stood at about 6'2; a few inches taller than me. _"He's taller than I expected." _

"Well here we are."

Leon gestured to the door and I sighed. _"No doubt I'm gonna get a lecture now."_

"This is gonna be a long night." I exhaled.


	5. A New Home

Thank you for the reviews people =) and I've decided that whenever Amy thinks anything in her head in this story from now on I'm not going to put it in italics cause really the whole story is Amy's thoughts, so it's pretty pointless when I think about it. Also RE: 5 hasn't happened in this story so Wesker isn't dead (yay =D). That's all for now =).

Chapter 5 - A New Home

After knocking on the door we only had to wait a few seconds before we heard heavy feet thudding across wood flooring. Leon and I looked at each other anticipation etched across our faces. Just then the door swung open.

"Do you have any idea how worried we've been? …Well do you! "Chris's voice boomed at me. I flinched and took a step back in shock.

"Jeez I didn't realise I had to report my every move to you what with me being a grown woman and all." I replied dryly. I saw Jill walk up behind Chris and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Chris, don…" She was cut off by another rant from Chris.

"Running off like that was stupid! Anything could have happened to you out there on your own! Did you not think for one second how dangerous that was and what worry you were putting Jill and I through! Get inside now!"

By this point I was pretty pissed off, who was he to talk to me like that? I was an adult who could do whatever I damn well please!

"Hey! Don't talk to me like that! Just who do you think you are? You're not my father; my dad's dead and has been a long time so I don't need you to waltz in trying to replace him! I'm an adult so stop treating me like a kid! I never asked to be run down by your beast of a truck, I never asked for you to bring me to America, I never asked for any of this! I agree it was stupid of me to run off like that but I panicked so I don't need you getting all high and mighty with me when I've got enough to deal with as it is!"

I took a deep breath after my minor outburst and stormed past Chris fuming. If he wanted an argument he got one, it wasn't like I didn't know what I did was stupid cause I did, but I didn't need him patronising me like that, not right now anyway. As I plonked myself on the sofa rather dramatically with Leon's jacket still draped over my shoulders I could feel Chris looking at me in shock. I glanced at Jill and she smiled warmly at me, that made me feel slightly better knowing she wasn't about to yell in my face too. Leon broke the silence.

"Chris now isn't exactly the time for screaming at her is it? Where's your sensitivity?" Leon strode past Chris and sat himself down on the sofa next to me.

"I'll get you some dry clothes Amy, mine should fit you."

Jill headed upstairs and left Leon, Chris and I alone in the lounge. I took the time to take in my surroundings; the house was huge, the walls were cream with a duck egg blue carpet and cream sofa, there was a cosy looking fireplace with photographs on the mantelpiece and there was a pine coffee table just in front of the sofa and a stereo in the corner next to a bookcase crammed full of old books by the window. The television was neatly placed in the corner of the room opposite the front door with an XBOX 360 and PS3 neatly stacked on the shelves underneath it and the stairs were behind the sofa. My eyes were just tracing the room when I noticed Chris stood in the corner next to the front door staring at me, his arms were folded across his beefy chest and he had a serious look on his face.

"You don't have to watch over me, I'm not gonna do another runner."

Chris grunted and walked into the kitchen. Once I thought he couldn't hear me I spoke.

"I don't think Chris likes me very much. I can't say I blame him though, I don't think I'd like some stranger who'd sent me on a wild goose chase living in my house either."

I looked at Leon; he had a soft look on his face, almost sympathetic.

"It's not that he doesn't like you Amy, he's just not the type of person to show emotions and it doesn't take much to piss him off. Plus he's the kinda person to take people under his wing, he takes it upon himself to protect everyone he can, he was probably genuinely worried about you. If it weren't for Jill he'd be a lot worse, she keeps him grounded."

I nodded. I guess I could understand after all he'd been through over the years. I thought the games were hard, I couldn't even imagine having to live through that for so long. I figured I was lucky, I may have lost my family and everything I know but at least I was alive, I still had a chance to live. I suddenly felt a pang of guilt wash over me, I didn't agree with the way Chris spoke to me but I shouldn't have snapped like that, they saved my life; they may have nearly killed me too but that's beside the point, I would have died for sure without them, turned into dust by the nuke if the zombies hadn't got to me first. I was gonna have to apologise; I needed to set this right.

"Leon, I'm just gonna go talk to Chris for a minute, thanks for the lending me the jacket by the way."

I stood up and shrugged the warm, leather jacket off my bony shoulders and handed it back to Leon, our fingers brushed as I passed it to him and I felt a tingle go down my spine. I could feel the heat rising to my face so I turned quickly and walked to the kitchen before he noticed. Upon entering the kitchen I could hear rustling but I couldn't see anyone, I frowned and walked around the island in the middle of the kitchen to be greeted with Chris's bum in the air, he was bent down and rummaging around in the bottom of the pantry for something. I quickly diverted my attention from his bum, feeling slightly cheeky that I was perving on the man that saved my life then took me in, not to mention he had girlfriend. I cleared my throat to get his attention and heard a loud thud against one of the lower shelves of the pantry.

"OW! Fuck that hurt!"

"Are you okay, Chris?" Chris spun on his heel to face me, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You just startled me that's all."

"I just wanted to talk for moment, if you're not too busy?..."

I peered around Chris to see what was so important in the pantry.

"No, it's okay we can talk now. I was just trying to find a pan; I thought you'd be hungry after all that shitty hospital muck they pumped into you."

"You don't know where the pans are in your own house?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Well…Jill normally does the cooking." Chris seemed embarrassed and shifted his weight from side to side.

Everything made sense now, typical man. Although I had to give him some credit, he was thoughtful enough to think of me being hungry.

"Right…Erm…Well for starters I don't think you'll find a pan in the pantry."

I remembered that my Mam kept her pans in the lower cupboards of the kitchen, so I walked over to the one closest to me; which happened to be one of the island cupboards, and opened it. Bingo. I picked a medium sized pan up and placed it on the counter. Chris stared at me with his mouth hanging slightly open.

"My own house and some stranger swans in and finds something I can't straight away. Must be because you're a woman…And for your information I was gonna look there next."

I glared at Chris and rolled my eyes, boy he was gonna be hard to live with.

"What were you planning on cooking?...Or burning more like considering you are a man."

Chris grinned. "Touché. I was thinking something along the lines of pasta?"

"Yeah okay, so where's the pasta?"

Chris looked at me blankly.

"Uhh…"

Seriously was this bloke for real? Has he never been though his own cupboards before? I sighed and walked past Chris heading for the pantry.

"You sit down, I'll cook us some food."

"Did someone say food? Cause there's one very hungry fella sat right here!" Leon shouted from the lounge.

I smiled and shook my head, men. Chris went to object but I raised my hand and pointed to the island in the middle of the kitchen. He seemed to get the hint that I wouldn't take no for an answer and quietly sat himself on a stool, resting his chin on his elbows on the grey marble surface; he looked like an overgrown kid. I was just pouring the pasta into the boiling water when Chris spoke.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

I paused for a moment trying to think of a good speech in my head. I didn't turn to face him because I'd never been one for apologies, I was always too stubborn, but this time I knew I was in the wrong. I took a deep breath before speaking.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot today and I wanted to say sorry. I'm sorry for snapping at you when Leon brought me back tonight and I'm sorry for running off in the first place. When I'm scared I run, that's what happened earlier, I was scared cause it suddenly hit me how alone I am now. I've never been on my own before. I also wanted to say thank you for saving my life back in England, if it wasn't for you and Jill I'd have been zombie chow or vaporized, either way I'd be dead so I'm kinda grateful that you can't drive properly and chose to hit me…" I turned my head slightly and grinned at Chris who was sat smiling to himself. "And another thing, I didn't mean the thing about not needing another father figure. It feels kinda nice to have someone worrying about me, it shows people care."

I turned around fully to face Chris and saw he was standing a few feet away from me.

"It's alright kiddo. I'm sorry too; I just get a bit wound up sometimes. It's been a stressful few months and with no leads as to where Umbrella are hiding out I've been letting things get under my skin a little easier than I would normally."

Before I knew what happened I was enveloped in a massive bear hug. Chris's huge arms were wrapped around my skinny frame so tightly I thought he was gonna snap me in like a twig. My wet clothes stuck to my body like a second skin and I cringed inwardly. Then I coughed and gasped for breath.

"…Chris!...Can't…Breathe…"

"Oh I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?...You just looked like you needed a hug." Chris laughed nervously to himself and looked away sheepishly.

Finally able to breathe again I answered.

"It's cool." I smiled at him warmly and hoped that eased his conscience.

"Mmm…Something smells good." Jill said as she breezed into the kitchen carrying some grey joggers and a navy blue baggy t-shirt, with Leon following closely behind. They both took a stool each at the island and looked at Chris expectantly.

"It's just pasta, nothing special." I replied.

"Anything is special when Chris is cooking it, remember this moment cause you'll probably never see it again."

Chris started to deny cooking the pasta when I shushed him.

"I'll let this one slide, you can take the credit." I whispered quietly enough for only him to hear.

Chris smiled gratefully and patted me on the head. It was an affectionate gesture but it reminded me that he still thought of me as a kid. I decided now was the right time to start asking questions and explaining stuff about myself. I discreetly leaned against the counter next to the oven where Chris was pouring tomato puree onto the pasta just in case he required any help.

"Amy, you should get changed. Your clothes are still drenched."

I looked at Chris wondering if he'd be okay left on his own with the pasta and he gave me a small wink. I took that as a yes and pushed myself off the counter to pick up the clothes.

"Okay. After supper is it okay if I ask you guys some questions?"

"Sure, fire away." Jill replied.

I smiled at Jill and headed towards the door leading back to the lounge.

"Where's the bathroom by the way?"

"Go up the stairs, turn left and it's the first door on your right. Just leave your dirty clothes in the wash basket behind the bathroom door."

I said my thank you's and set off for the bathroom. I didn't expect what I saw though, their bathroom was bigger than my whole bedroom back home in Eng…I really needed to stop referring to England as home, England was gone. America was my new home now. I forced myself not to break down again, I needed to stay strong. I quickly changed out of my wet clothes and into the fresh, clean ones Jill had been kind enough to give me. After splashing some cold water across my face I felt ready to go back downstairs. On my way down the stairs I noticed photo's on the wall going down, I couldn't be sure who the all the people were but I could easily pick out Jill, Chris and even Claire even thought I'd never met her. I smiled at the thought of the Raccoon City survivors having a normal life before all these viruses turned their lives upside down; they were just normal people like me. I gained comfort from the thought that they knew what I was going through and at the end of the day, they were probably just as scared as me. As I walked into the kitchen I saw black smoke billowing from the black pan Jill was holding under the cold water tap.

"What on earth…"

"Oh Amy, don't ask." Replied a less than amused Jill.

I tried to stifle a giggle as I looked at Chris's beetroot coloured face as he stood in the corner like a naughty boy, wondering how on earth he managed to burn pasta. Leon on the other hand wasn't doing such a good job at hiding his amusement, he was howling with laughter and wiping tears from his eyes.

"Guess it's a take-away then." Leon managed to spit out between waves of laughter. "I'll order us some pizzas." He said as he left the kitchen.

"Hey I told you Jill did the cooking in this house." Cried Chris in his defence.

"I'm not saying anything." I said as I slid onto the stool next to Leon's.

"One large mozzarella and one large meat feast is on it ways, they said they'd be here in about fifteen minutes. I got one of each cause I didn't know whether you were vegetarian or anything like that Amy." Leon said as he walked back into the kitchen.

I shook my head. "No I'm not vegetarian; I couldn't live without my parmo's."

My answer was met with three very confused faces.

"Oh yeah I forgot parmo's only exist where I come from. Basically a parmesan is a chicken fillet with soft white cheese and melted grated cheese on top of that. It's honestly one of the best things ever invented in my opinion."

Jill shrugged her shoulders. "We'll have to make some one time, give it a try."

I smiled and nodded my head in agreement. Just then Chris chirped up.

"I'll make myself useful and get us some drinks, anyone for a beer?"

We all raised our hand and Chris turned towards the fridge when he suddenly stopped and turned to face me.

"Hang on, are you even legal? We don't even know how old you are, I've just been assuming you're a teenager but no one's ever mentioned it."

Everybody was looking me waiting for an answer; I started to feel like I was under interrogation.

"I'm twenty, twenty-one next month."

Chris's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Twenty!"

Leon joined in. "Yeah I'm just as surprised, I thought you were like seventeen. You're tall but you have such a young face."

"Err thanks…I guess?"

"I knew she wasn't eighteen. Why didn't you just ask me if you wanted a rough age calculation?"

Leon and Chris turned to Jill and Chris spoke. "How did you know?"

"Well for starters she told us she was at university the day of the outbreak, she been referring to herself as an adult and the way she carries herself. She doesn't look immature. Honestly, you men are so dense."

Chris straightened up and cleared his throat. "Well then, I guess I owe you an apology Amy. I'm sorry for calling you kiddo and treating you like a kid."

I chuckled to myself. "It's fine, I should be flattered you's think I look so young…Anyway about this beer…"

"NO!" All three agents shouted in unison.

I jumped, their suddenly raised voices startling me.

"What do you mean no? In England the legal age to drink is eighteen and I am a native of England so doesn't that make me legal?"

"You live here now, the legal drinking age is twenty-one." Leon replied with a smirk.

"WHAT! You have got to be kidding me! I waited all those years to drink legally and now I have to wait again! Can't I just have one?..."

"NO!"

"Okay! Okay!...Party poopers…" I muttered under my breath.

"We heard that." They all replied again, that was starting to freak me out.

I decided I wasn't gonna get anywhere in this argument so I just gave up and slumped down in my seat, plonking my chin on the tops of my arms. This was just great. My sulking was just kicking in when the doorbell rang, the thought of hot food instantly took over my thoughts and my stomach rumbled loudly, snapping out of my mood I sat up and eagerly awaited the coming pizzas. Leon walked into the kitchen and placed the pizzas on the island counter and sat down next to me.

"One mozzarella and one meat feast at your service."

I waited for the others to grab a slice before taking a piece of meat feast for myself, it was greasy and jam packed full of cheese and meat but it tasted so good.

"Mmm…This is better than sex…"

I froze instantaneously after saying those words. I glanced up from my greasy pizza to be met with three sets of surprised eyes staring at me. I decided to just wing it and act like I'd meant to say it shrugging it off.

"What? You think English twenty year olds don't have sex or something?"

Jill placed her hand over her mouth and laughed, Chris sat there with his mouth gaping open; seemingly in shock and Leon just smirked at me before tucking back into his slice of mozzarella pizza. The next few minutes dragged very slowly until Leon spoke.

"So Amy, do you have a second name?"

"I do, but I don't like it. I've been using my Mother's maiden name for a few years now; obviously not on official documents though. I go by Whitfield when I'm able to."

Jill was the next to speak. "Why don't you like it?"

I sighed. "It was my Dad's surname. I started using my Mam's maiden name when he died four years ago."

I glanced up to see curiosity painted across all three of their faces.

"He was an alcoholic, he drank himself to death. We shared an unusual second name and I didn't want to be associated with him anymore after that, I was furious that he'd become so self-absorbed and didn't think about me, my Mam and my brothers and sisters. So I ditched the name and disassociated myself with him."

An awkward silence hung in the air until Chris spoke; I think he sensed that I felt uncomfortable.

"So Amy Whitfield, tell us a bit about yourself."

"Okay. I live…I mean lived with my Mam in Cleveland; I had two half-brothers and two half-sisters who were all older than me so they'd already moved out. I went to the University of Teesside and I was training to be a nurse. I enjoy sports; playing and watching, and I like playing video games, watching movies, reading and writing when I'm not out with my friends. I guess I'll be doing a lot more of that now everyone's gone."

I looked at their faces and saw sympathy wash across them. I hated being pitied but no doubt I'd feel the same for someone else in my position.

"Anything else you wanna know?"

"Uhh nope, anything you wanna know?" Chris replied.

"Yeah, how did I get these scars on my body? I mean besides being hit by a truck of course, they look like operation scars."

Jill was the next to speak. "When we brought you back to base the doctors had to do emergency surgery on you. It appears you had internal bleeding and a nasty wound on your leg. Your shoulder was just another injury from being hit by the truck but it wasn't anything too serious. Their main concern though was why you were in a coma, they managed to bring the swelling down on your brain but you showed no signs of waking up till three months later."

"I always did like my sleep." I joked.

The three of them laughed till Chris spoke again. "Jill and I took turns to stay by your bed in case you woke up, we didn't want you to panic when you finally did."

"Thanks." I smiled. It was then I felt was the time to ask about what they were going to do about Umbrella.

"Have you any idea what you're gonna do about Umbrella? I mean they can't just get away with what they've done right?"

I saw the three B.S.A.A agents look at each other then back at me. It was as if they were reading each other's minds, it made me feel uncomfortable.

"Amy, we have no leads on the whereabouts of Umbrella just yet. But I promise you when we do, we'll tell you immediately." Leon spoke solemnly.

"And we will bring them down." Added Chris. "I've got Claire and Steve digging up information on Umbrella from their workplace at Terrasave in New York, the B.S.A.A are working round the clock to find out anything about Umbrella and we're also conducting our own investigation between the three of us."

"Steve? I thought Steve died in the Code: Veronica Resident Evil game? Does that mean Luis's alive too!" I asked happily, Luis was always one of my secret favourite characters, even if he was kinda sleazy and greasy looking. I saw Leon look down and instantly I knew I'd put my foot in it.

"No, Luis is dead." Leon mumbled without looking up.

Chris intervened quickly. "We initially thought Steve was dead; me especially, but when we infiltrated an Umbrella base a few years back we found him alive and well…Well as well as could be, he'd been used as one of Wesker's play things since Rockfort Island. We managed to save him but found no trace of Wesker. Steve now lives and works with Claire in New York."

I felt awful, I hadn't meant to upset Leon, that's the last thing I wanted. I was about to apologise when Leon pushed his stool back and walked out the back kitchen door leading to a patio with two wooden benches and a table on it, he closed the door behind him and sat down just staring into the darkness.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Jeez I was getting good at this apologising malarkey.

"It's okay; it's just a sore subject for him. He always blames himself for Luis's death." Jill interrupted.

We sat there in silence for a few moments before I remembered what we were talking about before we got onto the topic of Steve.

"You do know that when you three go off to fight Umbrella, I'm coming with you."

"Like hell you are!" Chris raised his voice.

"Hey! My whole life was ruined because of Umbrella, so I'm going and you can't stop me! I have a right to do this!" I retaliated. I could feel my blood starting to boil again.

"It's too dangerous and you have no experience with this sort of thing, the B.S.A.A wouldn't allow it so leave it up to us, you'd only get yourself killed and what do you think your family would say to that?" Chris hit a nerve and he knew it. I started to head towards the back kitchen door too, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. But he did have a point; I would just get myself killed.

"Amy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

I spun on my heel to face him and cut him off. "My family is dead so I wouldn't know what they'd say." I glanced at Jill's face as I turned back round I exited the back door, she looked tired and worn out and I bet any money mine and Chris's bickering wasn't making her feel any better. I sighed as I stepped outside feeling the cool night air brush against my skin; making goose bumps rise on my arms. I wrapped my arms around myself and took a seat next to Leon who hadn't even noticed I was there yet. I could feel hot salty tears rolling down my face as I sniffled them back as best as I could. Leon turned to look at me with a confused expression on his face, his brows furrowed as he saw me crying and he wrapped a strong arm around me, drawing my closer to his body. The contact of another warm human being made me feel slightly better but I could still feel the pain beneath it. I placed my cold hand on top of Leon's warm one and looked into his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Leon. I just didn't realise, I don't think before I speak sometimes."

His deep blue eyes burned back into mine and I'm sure I saw a glint of a tear as he turned his head away.

"It's fine, really. It's just a sensitive subject for me that's all. Anyway, what're you doing out here? It's freezing."

"Same thing as you I guess, I just needed some air. Chris and I have had another disagreement."

Leon chuckled to himself. "You mean to say in the two minutes I stepped outside, you managed to get under his skin again?"

I gave Leon a weak smile and laughed humourlessly to myself.

"He doesn't think I should go with you guys when you eventually go to take Umbrella down. He says it's too dangerous and I'll just get myself killed."

Leon's face suddenly turned serious as he spun me round to face him and he grabbed both of my shoulders in his big hands.

"You can't be serious about wanting to go! Amy, Chris is right. I know you feel like you want to avenge your family and friends deaths but getting yourself killed isn't the way to go about it. Trust me on this one; you're better off not getting involved."

I knew Leon was right but I had to say something. "They involved me as soon as they destroyed my life and murdered all those people. I need to do something!" I looked at him pleadingly.

Leon stared at me as if searching for what to say next before sighing and bringing me closer to him again. I sank into his muscly chest and broke down into tears; once again. God this was getting tedious, I'd never cried so much in my life, I felt weak and numb inside. I gripped Leon's t-shirt and clung to him as if my life depended on it as wave upon wave of tears hit me; all the while he gently stroked my hair to comfort me. I was lost in his touch when he spoke again.

"Amy, just let us handle this, please? We're the professionals and we'll be in and out before you know it."

I paused to think for a second before looking up to his face again and I nodded. It was probably for the best that I stayed behind anyway.

"Claire and Steve are gonna come from New York within the next few weeks when they've gathered more information and help out too so we won't be shorthanded."

Suddenly I realised I didn't even know what state I was in! How could I have forgot to ask that!

"Wait, where are they coming to? Where are we?" I asked confused.

Leon laughed. "Oh yeah, we forgot to tell you, we're in Cleveland, Ohio."

"Cleveland? Huh, whaddya know, of all the places I could end up it's the place with same name as my home town back in England. Cool."

"Do you live in Cleveland too?"

"Yup. The B.S.A.A North American headquarters are here so it's just easier to live nearby. I actually only live across the road from Chris and Jill."

I couldn't help but smile, here I was in Leon S. Kennedy's big, strong arms and now I found out he only lived across the street from where I was going to be living. Bonus! I suddenly started to blush and jumped out of Leon's arms.

"Uhh…Well that's great news; I guess I'll be seeing more of you then." I could feel the blush creeping up my cheeks rapidly and I'm sure Leon could too. I turned my back to him and started towards the door. "Thanks for the chat, I'm gonna head to bed now I'm awfully tired." I faked a yawn and quickly ducked inside before I embarrassed myself even more. I'm sure I could hear Leon laughing to himself as I jogged over to the island in the kitchen towards Chris and Jill. They both turned their heads to look at me and I heard them both suck in a deep breath as if preparing themselves for my wrath. Now I suddenly felt guilty again, damn conscience!

"Listen you guys, I'm sorry for overreacting again, I'm not gonna make any excuses but I hope you forgive me."

They both breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at me.

"It's alright, Amy, we completely understand and we're sorry too. We don't mean…OW!" Jill punched Chris in the arm and glared at him; he rolled his eyes and carried on. "I mean, I don't mean to offend you all the time. I don't think before I speak sometimes."

I smiled; finally I had something in common with Christopher Redfield.

"I guess that makes two of us. Leon and I had a talk and I've realised it would be stupid of me to go with you guys, I'd be putting not only myself in danger but you guys too. I'll stay behind."

Jill placed her hand on my shoulder and rubbed it gently smiling.

"Thank you, Amy. We promise we won't let you or anyone else who died because of Umbrella down."

Just then Leon walked back inside. "Hey, I'm gonna go home now, I'll see you guys tomorrow yeah? See you, Amy."

I couldn't even bear to look at him without blushing furiously, what was wrong with me!

"Uhh…Yeah, see yah." I answered with my back to Leon.

I sensed Chris, Jill and Leon sharing a confused look but I wasn't going to stick around long enough for them to question it.

"I'm gonna head to bed now, could you tell me which room is mine please?"

Jill was the first to snap out of her confused state. "Yeah, you turn left at the top of the stairs, go past the bathroom you've already been in and it's the door right in front of you, I changed the sheets for you and laid out some of my own clothes on your bed for you already, so you can use those till we can get you some new ones. How about we go shopping tomorrow?"

I heard Chris and Leon let out deep groans.

"Jill we are not going with you, you take forever!" Chris whined.

"Who said you were coming with us eh? We're gonna have a girly day, just me and Amy. You two neanderthals can just slob out here, or better yet decorate Amy's room whatever colour she wants."

I stared in shock at Jill, I'd been here five minutes and already they were making it sound permanent, not that I was complaining mind, where else could I go?

"What colours would you like it, Amy?" Jill asked me smiling widely.

"Uhh…Umm…Violet and cream?" I picked my favourite colour and a neutral colour so it didn't look too dark or too light.

"Right well now that's sorted. You can go to bed now if you like Amy, sorry to keep you waiting."

I nodded and mumbled a pathetic thanks, I still in a slight state of shock as walked past Chris and Jill who were still sat at the counter, then past Leon; avoiding eye contact with him the whole time, who was stood in the archway in between the lounge and kitchen. I made my way up the stairs and to my new bedroom.

"Wow."

It was huge, a lot bigger than my old room and that was a reasonably big room too. I noted that I had two glass doors in the place where windows should be and they lead out onto a balcony. The room was currently plain white and had white bed sheets to match it. There was a built-in wardrobe to my right as I walked into the room with a chest of drawers slightly to my left in front of me, there was a widescreen plasma television attached the wall just past the chest of drawers and the bed was directly in front of that, there was a desk in the far corner on the same wall as the TV and chest of drawers right next to the glass doors and a bedside table on either side of the double bed. It was a pretty impressive guest room. I walked over to the bed and flopped myself down on it, it was so soft it felt like I was sinking into it. Soon enough sleep and exhaustion took over me once again and I drifted into a deep sleep, forgetting about the harrowing day I'd had.


	6. The Imelda Marcos of Converse

I am so sorry for the delay of this chapter! We had a family crisis not long after I posted the last chapter and I had my end of year exams too, then by the time I came back to write a new chapter I had writers block =/, but from now on I'll be back to posting chapters regularly, I promise =). Thank you for the reviews too, I really appreciate them =).

Chapter 6 – The Imelda Marcos of Converse

I woke the next morning to the sunlight streaming through the glass doors and the smell of bacon, I looked down and noticed there was a fleecy pink blanket neatly placed over me, Chris or Jill must have put it over me whilst I was asleep. I stretched my arms and legs out before slowly standing up and making my way over to the door, but just before I opened it I heard raised voices on the other side.

"Chris! What have I told you about leaving your dirty boxers on the bathroom floor? It's disgusting! You live with two women now; we don't wanna see your skiddy pants first thing on a morning!"

Chris's voice sounded further away when he replied so I guessed he was the one cooking bacon in the kitchen, or should I say burning bacon.

"Well sor-ry!" He replied sarcastically. "I forgot this was my house too! If you don't like it why don't you go live with perfect Carlos?"

Carlos? But I thought Chris was Jill's boyfriend? Okay, now I was confused.

"Oh for the love of God! Chris I'm gonna tell you one last time, I do not fancy Carlos! We went on a date once and that's it! What's your problem with him anyway?"

"Oh I dunno, maybe the fact he practically trips over his tongue every time he sees you! It's gross! No man should bow down to a woman like that."

I heard Jill huffing and puffing on the landing before she replied.

"Well at least he respects me! You know Christopher Redfield it really doesn't surprise me that you don't have a girlfriend!"

With that I heard her stomp into one of the bedrooms and slam the door. When I felt it was safe to come out I tip toed past the bathroom and to the top of the stairs, an open door on the opposite side of the stairs to my own catching my eye as I went. The door lead to a dark green bedroom with posters of topless girls pinned to the walls, the floor was covered in dirty socks, underwear and various other clothes with the odd shoe strewn about. I figured that must be Chris's room because there wasn't a feminine item in sight, but if that was Chris's room then where did Jill sleep? I turned around and noticed another two doors behind me, the one to my left facing Chris's room was slightly ajar and it looked like it was just used for storing unused furniture, and the one to my right which was opposite my room and next to the bathroom aswell was shut tight, Jill's room. I stood there for a few moments going over the past day or so in my head, I had just assumed Chris and Jill were in a relationship but I hadn't actually seen any evidence. This surprised me as they already seemed to act like a married couple. I shrugged to myself and walked down the stairs into the living room, I noticed there was a football game on t.v; or as the Americans call it, soccer. I stopped to watch but I didn't recognise any of the teams so I carried on into the kitchen and seated myself on a stool at the island.

"Morning, kiddo!"

I rolled my eyes at his pet name for me and smiled.

"Morning…Are you sure you should be cooking without adult supervision after last night's escapades?"

"Ha ha, quite the comedian aren't we?" Came the dry reply.

I simply grinned at him and peered over at the bacon sizzling away in the pan; to my shock it wasn't burnt!

"Wow I think we've found a meal you can actually cook instead of cremate."

"For your information I am an expert at frying bacon, it is my speciality, want some?" He beamed.

Chris seemed so proud of himself I couldn't help but laugh, and his bacon did look pretty tasty so I nodded in response. Just as he was dishing it out Jill walked into the kitchen.

"Hope you've saved me some."

"After your little outburst earlier? No way! Cook your own! Or better yet, get Carlos to make it for you!" Chris huffed.

"Are you still banging on about that? I don't fancy him, but if I did it wouldn't be any of your business! Come on Amy, get dressed quickly so we can beat the Saturday morning traffic into Tower City Centre. Leon should be here any minute to help Chris decorate your room and I need to get out of here before the testosterone levels in this house go through the roof! Men these days! I'll be waiting in the car."

Jill stormed off out the front door muttering something about testosterone turning men into cavemen before slamming it behind her. I used this as an opportunity to find out what the deal was with Chris and Jill.

"Riiiight. Soo, I'm kinda confused here, are you and Jill a couple? Have you been a couple in the past? Do you wanna be a couple? And would Carlos be the guy Jill escaped Raccoon City with by any chance? He was hot!"

I took a deep breath and waited for a response. Chris dropped his knife and fork and put his head down on his forearms before giving me a quiet, muffled answer.

"I..Jill."

"Erm...Sorry what was that? I didn't quite hear it."

"I LIKE JILL!...There I said it."

"And you think she's into Carlos right?" I spluttered whilst stifling a giggle.

"What's so funny about that? It's a complete disaster. I've known her since the beginning of STARS and she goes on a date with that greasy meathead instead, and he worked for Umbrella! She's too good for him."

I sighed and rolled my eyes at Chris for the second time in a matter of minutes. Men are so dense at times.

"God, why do men need everything spelling out for them? You lot never pick up on signals! I will never understand your species."

Chris looked at me confused before tilting his head to the side like a dog.

"What do you mean by never picking up on signals?"

"Jill doesn't fancy Carlos. Anyone with half a brain cell can see she's besotted with you. My guess is she went on a date with this Carlos dude to make you jealous and by the looks of things, it's worked. I can tell by the way she looks at you that she likes you too, that's probably why I got the impression you two were already a couple. You need to tell her how you feel, you're both stuck wondering how the other person feels when really you should just get it on already."

After I finished my speech I smiled at the speechless Chris and made my way to my room to get washed and dressed. After washing I brushed my hair and tied it up, then I picked a pair of Jill's boy-fit jeans and a short sleeved plain white t-shirt, it wasn't looking too warm outside so I also picked up one of Jill's blue hoodie's and put my black and white converse on, Jill must have guessed I wasn't the overly girly type when she met me, she put all the kinda clothes I would wear on my bed for me. I skipped down the stairs quite excited at the prospect of a bit of shopping; every girl loves to shop right? I shouted bye to Chris and was just about to walk out the door when I bumped into something. I looked up and noticed it was Leon carrying tins of paint and brushes. The butterflies kicked in and I started mumbling incoherently and looking at anything but Leon's face…Wow look at those abs!...Wait, focus Amy!

"Oh hey…Sorry about that."

"No I'm sorry; I should've been looking where I was going. Are you going shopping with Jill now?"

"Yea we're going to Tower City Centre, wherever that is."

"Good luck with that, Jill lives to shop." Leon chuckled.

I laughed nervously and swiftly stepped around Leon, I was becoming increasingly more embarrassed in his company and I needed to get out now.

"Well I'm off now, thanks for helping Chris with my bedroom by the way."

I started towards the door when I remembered something.

"Oh yea, have a word with Chris will you? I've just dropped the bombshell that it's obvious that Jill likes him about twenty minutes ago, I don't think he's recovered yet, he might need some man talk."

Leon burst into fits of laughter almost dropping the paint. "It's about time someone told him the truth. Barry, Claire, Steve and I didn't wanna be the ones to anything in case it got awkward."

"Oh shit, I never thought of that. Oh well the damage is done now, gotta go, see ya later!"

I turned on my heel and ran to the car, if this was gonna be my new home I really wanted it to be a happy one, even if I had just made the situation in our house awkward it needed to be said. I had to get Chris and Jill together and with Leon's help that might just happen.

The drive to the mall wasn't a long one, which I was glad about because I was desperate to get some clothes of my own. Not that Jill's weren't nice it's just I wanted something of my own, in this new country all I owned were a pair of converse, pair of jeans, a vest top and my underwear. Talk about embarrassing. I think Jill sensed my eagerness to shop as she headed straight for the clothes shops. After a few hours of picking out new clothes we were walking past Foot Locker when I noticed a window display full of converse, I'm sure my eyes lit up like light bulbs cause Jill started laughing and dragged me inside. There were converse of every type and colour, I was in converse heaven. Jill startled me when she spoke.

"So which one's do you want?"

"You mean I can get a new pair?"

"You can get as many pairs as you want; after all this is Chris's credit card." Jill grinned devilishly whilst flashing the piece of plastic around. "I need to get my own back on him for being such a moron."

As I picked out three new pairs of converse; a red pair, a green pair and a white pair, I saw this as perfect timing to ask Jill about Chris while he was the topic of our conversation.

"Jill, can I ask you something personal?"

I decided to go with the more delicate approach with Jill; she wasn't as dumb as Chris when it came to stuff like this, she didn't need it spelling out.

"Yea sure." She answered absent minded while she checked out a pair of shoes.

"Do you like Chris?" Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.

"Yea of course I do, why?"

Okay, maybe she was a little dense at this kinda stuff too.

"No I mean like-like Chris?"

She paused for moment before answering. "You mean like-LIKE Chris?"

The penny dropped.

"Yea, cause I know he like-LIKES you."

She turned to me so fast I almost got whip-lash.

"Really! He said that!"

"It was kinda obvious, he was crazy jealous about that Carlos dude and when I asked him about it he admitted he liked you, but he didn't think you feel the same."

"I used Carlos to make him jealous; I didn't think it would work though. Oh dear, what do I do? How do I act in front of him? Do I tell him or do I wait for him to come to me? I might be waiting a while for him to come to me though since he's such a stubborn old goat…"

I smiled and shook my head, it was obvious neither Chris nor Jill had much experience when it came to relationships.

"Just leave it to me, I have an idea but I'm gonna need some outside help. Do you mind if I enrol Leon into my plan? He already knows about how you two feel anyway, everybody but you and Chris knew."

"Uhh...Okay, as long as it's nothing embarrassing or awkward!"

"Don't worry, it's all gravy."

We set off back to the car; hauling my three pairs of converse and a pair of black heels, along with ten new tops, two pairs of shorts, eight different varieties of jeans and a little black dress that I intended on wearing for my twenty-first birthday next month, not forgetting the pretty new lingerie sets Chris's credit card bought me. All in all, it had been a successful shopping trip. When we pulled up outside the boys came out to help us carry our newly purchased items, I guess chivalry isn't dead after all.

"So did you have fun spending money?" Chris asked.

"Obviously, it was even better knowing it was yours." She retorted whilst handing him back his credit card.

I didn't know whether to laugh or run, Chris must have turned three different shades of colour in a matter of seconds before Leon smacked him on the back and spoke.

"Suck it up dude, that's women for ya."

Leon grabbed my bags out of my hand and walked up the path alongside me, I was just about to speak when he noticed the three boxes of converse in the bags and stopped.

"Jesus, who do you think you are? The Imelda Marcos of Converse?"

I burst out laughing before giving a feeble attempt at an excuse.

"What can I say? Everyone has a weakness, mine just happens to be a particular type of shoe. Oh by the way, I spoke to Jill and she admitted she likes Chris too, but she doesn't know what to do now. I was thinking we could set them up on a date without either of them knowing it's only going to be them two there so they don't get nervous and chicken out. I'm gonna need your help though, could you get Chris there while I deal with Jill?"

Leon laughed before shaking his head.

"What? What's so funny?" I had a paranoid feeling building up the pit of my stomach.

"You are, and yes I will help you by the way."

Oh god he thinks I'm a joke! It was as if he read my mind because I'd barely finished that thought when he spoke again.

"Now don't get me wrong, I don't mean that in a negative way at all, it's just one minute you act like you can barely look at me or speak to me and the next you're laughing and chatting away without even taking a breath."

"I talk more when I have something to focus on and I don't talk much when I'm nervous, sorry if I seem a bit weird."

"You're not weird. I'd call you…different, but in a good way."

Instantly I started blushing profusely, there was no way I could hide it this time. Damn it he was definitely going to think I was weird now!

"Why do you blush or stutter everytime we speak or we're near each other?"

I froze in the driveway. This was my worst nightmare come true, being confronted by Leon S. Kennedy about why I blush or stutter everytime I'm in his presence. Geez it doesn't take a rocket scientist to answer that! I just wanted the earth to swallow me up right there and then.

"Amy, come here and see this!" it was Jill calling me, saved by the bell.

I didn't hesitate for a second; I sprinted into the house leaving Leon stood on the drive with his arms full of my bags, oh well, that was payback for having put me on the spot like that. It became apparent Leon was another dense guy if he couldn't work out something as simple as that himself! As I came to a stop beside Jill she pointed upstairs.

"Come on; let's go see your new room." She said with a big smile.

I'd totally forgotten about my room being decorated, I could feel the excitement building up in my tummy like I was a kid all over again. Jill led the way and I followed closely behind with Chris behind me, then Leon with all my bags. She opened the door and stepped aside for me to see past her.

"Wow, you two did all this in just a few hours? That's amazing! Thank you."

I was grinning like a Cheshire cat and I didn't care how stupid I looked, it was the first time I'd been genuinely happy since I arrived in America. This was my new room and it looked great, the cream carpet and duvet set contrast great with the violet curtains and walls. I couldn't believe how fast they'd done an entire room. I was impressed.

"I really don't know what to say to you three, you've been so welcoming and generous and you don't even know me. I am so grateful, thank you."

I don't know what came over me cause I'm not usually the touchy feely type but I actually hugged each one of them, even Leon and I managed not to blush, I was too caught up in my new room to care. I could tell that the three agents were pleased that I was happy,

"Well we'll leave you to settle in and put your new things away and stuff, I'll prepare dinner, it'll be ready for six. I'm gonna attempt to make them parmesans you were talking about last night, wish me luck."

With that Jill walked off and Chris followed behind. I didn't notice Leon still stood in the doorway after they'd left.

"I'm not letting it go you know? I will get it out of you eventually as to why you get so nervous around me. See you at dinner."

I groaned and sat on the end of my bed before flopping back, this was great, everything was great; my new room, my new clothes and shoes, the people I'm living with are lovely…Leon catching on to my little crush, not so great.

A/N: I know it's not my longest chapter but I need to get back into the swing of things. Also for those of you who don't know who Imelda Marcos is, she was a politician's wife who owned 2,700 pairs of shoes, jealous much! Thank you for reading this latest chapter and please review =).


	7. Caught Red Handed

Jeeeez where did time go! Again I'm sorry for the long wait; I just haven't had the time to sit down and write something that isn't assignment related for so long. I won't promise to keep updating regularly because as you can see it doesn't always happen, but I will do my best. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate the feedback =).

Chapter 7 – Caught Red Handed

Jill had asked Leon to stay for dinner; to my dismay, as a thank you for helping Chris with my room. Thankfully he wasn't trying to work an answer out of me, the last thing I needed was Chris and Jill catching wind of my little crush. As we all sat at the island eating our parmesans; which had turned out superbly might I add, I glanced between the three agents sat around me. Chris was sat opposite me and was eating his meal as if it was his last supper, Jill was to my left, looking up nervously at Chris between mouthfuls and Leon was to my right, also looking at Chris and Jill. Leon was the first to break the silence.

"So, what do you wanna do for your birthday, Amy? Twenty one is a big birthday so we should do something special."

I dipped my head to the side confused. "It's not til next month; we don't have to plan anything yet." I replied.

"What date is it exactly?" Chris asked.

"The seventh of September."

"You do realise that's only two weeks away, Amy?" Jill chirped in.

I paused for a moment thinking, I never realised how close it actually was.

"Yeah, I guess you're right then." I said smiling.

Leon started talking again. "So, what do you wanna do?"

Suddenly an idea popped into my head and I grinned inwardly.

"We could go for a meal, you know the four of us?" I suggested with an innocent smile on my face.

Chris and Jill looked at each other, then at Leon and shrugged.

"Yeah, if that's what you want?" Chris said.

"It is." I replied, still smiling.

As Chris and Jill went back to eating their meals I looked at Leon and winked; this was gonna be the perfect opportunity to set them up.

Later that evening we decided to watch a soccer game, again it was between two teams I wasn't familiar with but I was happy to watch it anyway.

"Aw come on, what was that! Is this ref blind or something!" Chris yelled at the T.V from his spot at the end of the couch. Jill who was laid out on the floor in front of the couch just rolled her eyes at him and Leon who was sat in between me and Chris was too transfixed on the game to even acknowledge his sudden outburst.

I laughed at Chris as I stood up and headed to the kitchen about to go get more drinks when we were submerged into darkness. As usual whenever a power cut occurred, I panicked. I hate the dark.

"Uhh guys, w-what's happened?" I stammered. I could hear my heartbeat pounding loudly in my ears as the dread set in.

"It isn't a power cut; the neighbours' lights are still on. There must be something wrong with the circuit breaker." Chris spoke near the window; I could see his silhouette from the street lights outside. "Jill, fetch me the flashlight from the kitchen drawer would ya? I'll go check the circuit breaker box in the basement."

Jill slowly edged along the walls, feeling her way to the kitchen when there was a loud thump. I gasped and clenched my eyes shut, holding onto the doorframe between the kitchen and living area in a vice like grip. Why was I such a baby when it came to the dark? I blamed it on all the horror stories my older brother used to tell me when I was younger and suddenly I felt kind of sad AND scared, thinking of my brother right now definitely wasn't helping me at all.

"OW! Son of a bitch! I stubbed my toe on the coffee table, who put that there anyway?" Jill huffed.

I breathed a sigh of relief and mentally slapped myself for being such an idiot.

"Jill, you put that table there." Chris kindly informed her; completely unaware that he was just exacerbating the situation.

Jill mumbled something incoherent and carried on feeling her way across the room before finally reaching me in the doorway and putting a gentle hand on my arm, she must have sensed I wasn't too comfortable in the dark.

"Don't worry we'll have the lights on in a jiffy." She spoke gently.

I smiled gratefully to her then it hit me that we were in the dark and she wouldn't see it, duhh, so I said my thanks and she went on her way to find the flashlight. Not a minute later and Jill was brushing past me and back to feeling her way across the room towards Chris, bumping into objects and cursing like a sailor again. She handed Chris the flashlight and he tried to turn it on but it wouldn't work.

"It's not working, Jill." Chris stated the obvious.

"No shit, Sherlock, the batteries are dead and there wasn't any more in the drawer. You used the last of them for your stupid Xbox controller last week." She replied in a pissy manner.

"We'll have some more in the storage boxes in the basement, we'll have to do without for now and try to find them when we're down there." Chris shrugged.

"'We'?" Jill stated incredulously. "Who said anything about 'we'? You're the one who forgot to bring more batteries upstairs and I'm not chancing going down there in the dark, I've already stubbed my toe once."

I saw Jill's silhouette fold her arms across her chest and turn away from Chris in a childlike manner. There was certainly never a dull moment with these two around.

"Aww come on, Jill? Pleeeease?...What if I fall and you aren't there to help me? I need your help to find the batteries." Chris begged.

"What if you fall and you take me down with you? One of us injured is better than both of us." She retorted.

Leon and I just stood in silence listening to the conversation between the two, before he spoke up.

"Should we just go down there and check the circuit breaker box whilst they fight this out? Something tells me they're gonna be there a while."

I could hear the smirk in Leon's voice and couldn't help but smile myself. For some crazy reason I agreed so Leon took my hand in his and guided me towards the basement door next to the bottom of the stairs. I don't even think Chris and Jill had realised we'd left the room because I could still hear Chris begging Jill to come down into the basement with him, and Jill flat out refusing because he's a big boy and should be able to go on his own. I chuckled to myself as walked carefully down the creaky, wooden stairs into the pitch black behind Leon, still firmly gripping his hand. As we reached the bottom it hit me what a silly decision it was to agree to this and I stopped dead in my tracks, Leon was abruptly yanked back towards me and he stood to face me…at least I think he did, I couldn't tell for the dark.

"What's wrong?"

I could hear the concern in his voice.

"I know this might be a stupid time to tell you but…I'm afraid of the dark." I mumbled quietly.

I was expecting Leon to be mad at me for not telling him before now but I was surprised when he gently took my other hand into his free hand and moved closer to me.

"It's alright, I'll keep you safe."

His reassuring, firm but gentle voice was mere centimetres from my ear and I could feel his hot breath on my cheek. All I could focus on was his warm hands and the close proximity in which we were stood. Thank god for the dark because I'm sure I flushed a very deep shade of crimson right then. I whispered my thanks and cleared my throat to speak.

"We should get the lights working again and find those batteries whilst we're at it." I suggested. I was desperate for a change of subject to calm myself down.

Leon straightened up and agreed, letting go of one hand and guiding me with the other again. As he led me across the basement towards the circuit breaker box I could still hear Chris and Jill arguing so I saw this as the perfect opportunity to let Leon in on my ''.

"So, I was thinking we could all go for a meal for my birthday and I could pull a sicky half way through and you could take me home, that leaves Chris and Jill alone and it won't look suspicious because we'll all be arriving together."

I could hear Leon fiddling with the switches in the box with his free hand whilst I was talking.

"Yeah, that sounds pretty valid, I also think I'm at work the next day too so there's another excuse for me to leave early to back your excuse up."

I was just about to answer Leon when the lights flickered back on.

"Guess that was the right switch." Leon grinned.

I heard it all go quiet upstairs; barring the cheers emanating from the speakers of the television which had come back to life, and then two heads peered round the basement door towards us.

"When did you two sneak down here?" Jill said with a confused look on her face.

"And when did you two start holding hands?" Chris asked accusingly.

Leon and I snatched our hands away quickly and I started stuttering.

"I was…uhh…afraid and-"

"I was just…guiding her to the circuit box with me…so she wasn't on her own!" Leon said quickly.

I could feel Chris's eyes burning through us both and I instantly felt like a naughty child after being caught doing something I shouldn't. He must have accepted our answer because he simply frowned and hummed to himself before his head disappeared back into the house. Jill moved to the top of the stairs smiling at us and shaking her head.

"I'll find the batteries, you two go back up and finish watching the game." She gestured towards the living area whilst speaking and walking down the steps.

Leon and I didn't argue and quickly strode across the room and up the stairs desperate to escape the awkward atmosphere, only to walk into an even more awkward atmosphere in the lounge with Chris sat right in the middle of the large couch where Leon was sat previously, leaving only the spaces either side of him to sit. Leon and I glanced at each other before taking a deep breath and taking our seats beside him, Chris's subtle hint at not wanting Leon and I to sit together wasn't very subtle but neither of us said anything. This was gonna be a long game…


	8. Operation: Matchmaker

Chapter 8 – Operation: Matchmaker

Two extremely long weeks had passed by since the awkward episode in the basement and my twenty-first birthday had arrived. Chris was just finally starting to feel safe leaving Leon and I alone in a room together, but it was a very different story only three days before when I overheard Chris and Jill talking…

"_Jill, you know I can't re-paint the decking this Saturday so please stop asking me." Whined Chris._

_Jill slammed the pan she was holding down on to the kitchen counter and turned to face Chris's sturdy form hunched over the island in the middle of the room with his arms outstretched in front of him, face-planting the granite surface. _

"_I know the reason you won't do it Chris and its stupid. Leave them both alone, they said nothing was/is going on and I believe them… Anyway even if there was-"_

"_DON'T EVEN GO THERE, JILL! NO WAY! UH-UH! NOT UNDER MY ROOF! NOT HAPPENING!" Chris cut in abruptly, slamming his hands over his ears and shaking his head so vigorously it was almost a blur._

_Jill placed her hands on her hips and leaned to one side glaring at him. Chris knew that stare and slowly dropped his hands into his lap._

"_I'm staying right here and keeping an eye on those two during the game, they can't be trusted together." Chris muttered under his breath. "And when we go out for Amy's birthday meal, I'm sitting in between them." He added as an afterthought. _

"_Amy's not Claire you know. You can't be all over-protective with her, look what happened with Claire, she moved to an entirely different state to escape your brotherly love! It's nice that you care for her but don't push her away, maybe Amy is your second chance to get it right. While we have no proof of anything going on between Leon and Amy we have to let them be…and IF there was- "Jill paused waiting for an interruption from Chris, when he said nothing she carried on. "Then we would be there to support them both because that's what friends are for, okay?"_

_Chris opened his mouth to protest._

"_I said okay?" Jill said again in a more firm tone of voice._

_Chris sighed in defeat and nodded._

I was in my room doing the finishing touches to my make-up when Jill shouted me from downstairs.

"Amy, are you nearly ready? We have a table booked for eight o' clock!"

I glanced at the clock on my bedside table, shit it was almost seven o'clock.

"Uhh…I'll be down in a minute!"

I took another look at myself in the full length mirror and sighed, I was starting to regret buying a little black dress for my birthday evening.

"I hate dresses, what was I thinking?" I muttered to myself.

The dress itself was very pretty and sleek; two of the words I would never describe myself. I'd decided on an elegant style rather than a party style, it wasn't as if I had any friends to go out partying with anyway. It was a sleeveless one strap dress; but not a spaghetti strap, the strap was wide enough to just cover the scar on my right collarbone. The tight fitting style hugged every curve and it reached the floor with a slit up to my hip on the left side, ensuring the scar on my right leg remained covered also. I took a look at the black strappy heels I was wearing and rolled my eyes, they may have only been four inches tall but to a person like me who never wears heels that was like skyscraper height, and they were already beginning to dig into my heels before I'd even left the house. I started to get all flustered when Jill appeared at my door, looking radiant as ever in a pale blue strapless dress that clung to every curve and complimented her skin tone perfectly. It ended just above her knees and was finished off a pair of open toed black heels and a black clutch bag. She was a classic beauty. I suddenly felt nauseous, how was I gonna look stood next to her?

"Amy, are you okay? You look a little peaky." Jill asked concerned.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and plonked myself onto the end of my bed, knocking my make-up bag onto the floor in the process. Jill sauntered over and picked it up before sitting beside me and placing an arm around my shoulders, an act my own mother used to do whenever I was upset. Oh how I wished she was here to see me turn twenty-one.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I feel so out of place in a dress and heels and it's my birthday and my Mam isn't here to see me and I don't think my hair and make-up looks right and my shoes are hurting already and I feel frumpy and you look gorgeous and now we're gonna be late." I blurted out at lightning speed before taking a deep breath and breaking out into sobs. Jill simply chuckled and hugged me close running her fingers through my hair to calm me down.

"I don't know what to say about your Mom but that she would be very proud that you're doing so well and coping as best you can. You've been very brave and I know without a doubt if she could see you now she'd be sad to see you unhappy on your birthday. As for the hair and make-up, leave that to me." She spoke soothingly and smiled. I looked up and gave her a weak smile before wiping my eyes on the back of my hand, smudging my mascara in the process.

"Oh shit, we're gonna be really later at this rate." I huffed.

"No we won't. Pass me the make-up wipes and sit back and relax." Jill said happily.

I did as she instructed and let her do her magic. When she'd finished five minutes later she stood my up and walked me to the mirror once again.

"Now open your eyes." She said.

"Holy shit, is that even me? You're a miracle worker, Jill." I gasped.

Jill laughed and flicked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. "Well I don't like to brag but…No, seriously you give yourself no credit, Amy. You lack confidence and you really have no need to. Take a look at your perfectly structured cheekbones and your deep green eyes. And don't even get me started on your legs, they're virtually endless, I'd kill for those. I've simply brought more attention to those. You're a very pretty girl, Amy."

I felt myself blush; I was never able to take a compliment without turning bright red. As I studying myself in the mirror I saw that Jill had used a very pale pink blusher on my cheeks to give them a tint of colour which complimented my pale skin, she had applied a small amount of dark grey eye shadow and black eyeliner and mascara to make my green eyes stand out even more and finished it off with a clear lip gloss. My blonde hair was styled in loose curls and hung to my shoulders. I actually felt pretty. I turned to Jill and hugged her tightly, I must have taken her by surprise because she gasped and then chuckled at me.

"Thank you so much Jill."

"It was nothing." She said as she patted my back. "Now come on, we have twenty minutes to get to the restaurant… but knowing Chris's driving we'll be there in ten." She winked.

As I followed Jill down the stairs, clinging to the bannister for dear life with one hand and tightly gripping my black sequin clutch bag in the other, I realised I had to face Leon dressed like this. Suddenly I felt butterflies in my tummy and my breathing quickened; I really hoped he'd like what he saw. Chris was obviously pleased with what Jill was wearing because the blush on his face became apparent as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs - he looked pretty suave if I might say so myself; he was dressed in a black suit with a pale pink shirt underneath which had the top two buttons undone and black dress shoes. He quickly stood from his place on the sofa and cleared his throat.

"You look...umm…stunning Jill." He stammered.

"Thanks Chris…Hey you're wearing the shirt I got you! I never thought I'd see the day you wore pink, I knew you'd suit the colour." Jill replied smiling.

Chris blushed even more. I couldn't help but smile at how cute he and Jill looked blushing at each other; it took me all of my willpower to not shout at them to get it on already right there and then. No, this had to be done properly and tonight was the perfect opportunity. As I was watching them from the corner I didn't notice Leon slip into the room until he broke the silence.

"You look nice Jill. Wow, Chris I don't think I've ever seen you in a suit before…"

"Yeah, yeah whatever…" Chris grumbled and dug his hands into his trouser pockets like a grumpy teenager.

Leon then turned and noticed me in the corner, I'm not gonna lie he looked HOT. He was wearing a grey suit with a baby blue shirt underneath which brought out the blue in his eyes even more, and a silvery grey tie and black dress shoes - very expensive looking dress shoes might I add. Just seeing Leon dressed in a suit made me go weak at the knees, I hoped he couldn't tell though because he seemed to be staring straight at me...And not saying anything, just staring…Okay, this was getting awkward now so I broke the silence.

"I like your shoes." I blurted out whilst staring at his feet. _"I like your shoes?"_ What the fuck was that all about? Dammit, I should have kept my mouth shut. This thought was further verified when Leon just continued to stare at me blankly. What's with this guy? Did his parents never tell him that it's rude to stare?

"Thanks." Was the only reply I got from him.

Well this was awkward, we were all just stood looking at each other and not speaking, and to be perfectly honest I was pretty pissed off that I never got a comment from Leon, just an intense stare, did I honestly look that bad? I didn't have time to dwell on it because I was being shoved out the door by Chris and pushed towards the car; I stumbled to regain my balance in my high heels and just made it to the car without landing on my face.

"What's the rush?" I asked Chris.

"We need to get a move on that's all." He replied.

As I climbed into the back of the SUV I felt someone grab my hand and help me in, I turned around and came face to face with Leon.

"Thanks Leon." I smiled.

"No problem, you just look like you could do with a hand in those heels." He chuckled.

He seemed less intense than he was in the house and that I was grateful for. He was just about to climb into the seat next to me when Chris appeared at the door behind him.

"Jill's gonna ride with Amy, aren't you Jill?

"I am?" Jill looked at Chris confused. I couldn't see Chris' face but I could just tell what expression was on it. "Oh yeah, I remember now." She answered through gritted teeth. Did they really think we wouldn't notice this? She wandered around to Leon's door and sat herself in the seat next to me and put her seatbelt on. As Leon shut the door and walked to the passenger side and Chris climbed into the driver's seat she gave me a sympathetic look and mouthed the words "I'll explain later." I sighed and turned to look out of the window, I already knew what this was about, it didn't need explaining and it was making things extremely awkward for me and Leon.

The ride to the restaurant was a quiet one, verging on awkward if I'm honest. I was glad as soon as I saw the restaurant appear into view, I breathed a sigh of relief as I got out the car and stood alongside Jill whilst Chris gave the keys to a valet and Leon stood stiffly on the other side of Jill. Things were pretty tense so I decided to put my plan into action a little earlier than initially planned. I started holding my stomach and groaning quietly, not wanting to over-do the acting. I just prayed my acting skills could pull it off; the only person who could ever see through my "poorly" act was my Mam but Jill and Chris were used to people trying to lie to them on a daily basis. It seemed to be working though because I got Jill's attention right away.

"Amy, are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"I feel a bit sick if I'm honest, but don't worry about me I'll be fine." I answered quietly.

"You didn't seem yourself earlier either, are you sure you're okay? We could take you home if you like?"

"NO!...I mean I'm fine, really." Shit I nearly blew it there.

Leon must have overheard because he stepped over to us and took Jill to one side.

"You know, really I have to be at work early tomorrow anyway so I could take Amy home on my way back to mine?"

I tried not to look too hopeful as Jill mulled this over in her head.

"Chris wouldn't like that, Leon. I know you're not stupid and you've seen the way he's been acting since the power cut, he'd instantly think something was going on…And it's your birthday Amy, I feel like it's been a disappointment for you."

Chris was on his way to join us when Leon spoke again.

"But if she's not well then she shouldn't be here should she? I'll tell you what, why don't you and Chris go ahead and have a nice meal, it would be a shame to lose your table now too; I've heard the lobster they do here is great by the way. We can always celebrate her birthday another night."

I had to stifle a giggle at Leon's efforts; he was really laying it on thick. I was silently praying that Chris and Jill – two very intelligent agents, didn't catch on to our plan. Jill looked genuinely torn between staying with me and going ahead with the meal, I hated lying to her and Chris but what other choice did we have if wanted to get these to numbskulls together? By this point Chris was giving Leon a death glare, I was completely convinced the plan was going to fail and my heart was in my mouth when Chris asked Leon to step aside to "have a word". This left Jill and I alone and I was so close to letting her in on the plan but I didn't know if it would make her feel better or worse so I decided to keep my dying duck act up.

"Honestly Jill, I think it's for the best if I go back home, I'll just go to bed and see you when you guys get home. I'll even text you every hour to tell you how I am. You go ahead."

I did my best to muster up a smile that wasn't too eager but also didn't make me look like I was about to hurl in her face. I knew if she thought I was too ill she would accompany me home. Before she could reply a very smug looking Chris re-appeared with Leon at his side, Leon on the other hand didn't look even remotely smug, he actually looked like also wanted to hurl. What on earth had Chris said to him?...Actually, maybe I didn't want to know.

"Leon and I have had a chat and we've come to the conclusion that it's a good idea if he takes you home, but I want hourly texts to ensure that you're okay and if you need us don't hesitate to call. Leon will only be across the road too but I would prefer it if you called us if it was that bad, there's no need to go disturbing the man now is there? And he shouldn't disturb you either, right Leon?"

Chris patted Leon hard on the back with his shovel sized hand and almost sent him flying as he nodded in agreement. I couldn't help myself and I rolled my eyes; Chris was about as subtle as a kick in the teeth.

So we said our goodbyes and Leon had flagged us a taxi down, leaving the car for Chris and Jill to come home in incase of "an emergency" as Chris had put it, he was honestly treating me like a child, not that I was going to complain too much as it was nice to have someone looking out for me. Leon got into the taxi first to tell the driver our address as Jill repeated over and over to not hesitate to call if I needed them, I eventually peeled myself away from her and got into the taxi breathing a sigh of relief. As it was pulling away I heard Chris yelling down the street.

"And no hanky panky either!" He bellowed.

I glanced back and cringed at the amount of people staring at poor Jill as she stood next to him before turning towards Leon, he either hadn't heard Chris or he was pretending he didn't.

"Jeez, that was harder than I expected." I laughed to Leon.

"Tell me about it, I think I'm mentally scarred for life after Chris spoke to me."

"What did he say?"

"Oh he just said if I touch you, speak to you or even think about you inappropriately he'll rip my balls off and feed them to me." Leon answered in a nonchalant manner.

I gulped and suddenly felt really guilty for dragging Leon into my plan. He must have sensed this.

"Oh don't worry about it; he used to threaten me all the time back when Claire was single and living at home…not that it was me that he had to be worried about." Leon smiled as if remembering something. "Poor Steve didn't know what hit him when Chris found out about those two."

"Do I really want to know what happened?" I asked with morbid curiosity.

"Probably not." Leon laughed. "But I'll tell you anyway." He added excitedly. "Chris and I got off work early one day and found them fooling around on the sofa "watching a movie". Steve didn't even have chance to get his shoes on before Chris was chasing him down the street, he got almost a block away before Chris tackled him to the ground and gave him the biggest wedgie I have ever seen in my life, he almost needed his boxers surgically removing from his ass man, it was sick. I had to intervene at this point I mean it was just cruel to watch the poor kid."

"So you didn't find any of this remotely funny?" I asked knowing full well what the answer would be.

"Hell yeah I did! I mean who wouldn't?" And there it was, the inner child in Leon S. Kennedy.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head before looking out the window, suddenly realising I had no clue where were.

"Umm Leon? Where are we? Correct me if I'm wrong but I think our houses are in the opposite direction?"

"No you're right they are but I thought considering it's your twenty-first birthday and you're now officially legal to drink alcohol in this country, I'd treat you to a few drinks before we go home, Chris and Jill will never know. We're heading to a good bar I know across town." Leon grinned.

I didn't know whether to be happy or nervous about this, now I don't get me wrong I can hold my drink but whether I can hold my drink and my tongue around Leon is another story. Just then we pulled up outside a bar that was full of people, of course with it being a Saturday night everywhere was bound to be full. Leon paid the driver, got out and walked round to my side of the car to help me out. As I looked around I suddenly felt completely overdressed for this type of place, everyone was dressed so casual.

"Leon, I don't think we're dressed properly for the occasion." I said with my back to him.

"Nonsense." He replied as I turned back to face him.

My jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw him, in the seconds I'd been gaping at all the other people he'd removed his tie and undone his top few buttons and taken off his jacket and slung it over his arm. He looked unreal. He could easily pass off as being on a night out now whereas I was still feeling like a fish out of water.

"Don't worry about it, Amy. You look gorgeous and that's all that matters." He whispered in my ear.

I blushed profusely and started my regularly stuttering as usual. "I…uhh..yeah..umm…o-okay.

Next Leon took my hand and led me to the bar entrance, my face was still burning and I had an awful feeling I was going to make a fool of myself tonight, but as soon Leon had pushed our way to the bar and got us three shots of Sambuca each, I stopped caring. This was my birthday and nothing was going to spoilt it. Not even the people throwing funny looks in mine and Leon's direction for what we were wearing. Tonight I was going to let my hair down, I just hoped Chris and Jill were having as much fun as me.


	9. The Late Birthday Present

The Late Birthday Present

"You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, when I met you!"

We sang at the top of our voices as we held onto each other to keep from falling off the bar.

"Don't you want me, baby? Don't you want me? Ohhhhhh.

My shoes were long discarded somewhere and we were surrounded by empty shot glasses. Leon had a firm grip around my waist to stop me from falling off the bar and probably to keep his own balance too. We hadn't a clue what time it was and to be honest, we didn't care. I was having the most fun I'd had in a long time and it felt fantastic. As the song ended the barman shouted last orders and Leon stumbled down from the bar and offered me a hand. "M'lady?" He said as he bowed.

I drunkenly giggled as I gratefully took his hand and went to step onto a stool, completely missed the missed the stool and landed in a ungraceful heap in his arms… Not that I gave a damn by this point.

"Oops, sorry!" I slurred, I glanced up at Leon and his hair was dishevelled in a devilishly handsome way making it hard not to stare…Too much alcohol, yes definitely too much I told myself as I tried to straighten myself up. All of a sudden my stomach growled at me, I remembered I'd skipped the meal and hadn't eaten in hours, I had an idea.

"Wanna get some food before we head home? I could just demolish a bag of chips – I mean fries right about now, sorry force of habit. You can take the girl out of England but you can't take England out of the girl." I laughed to myself.

Leon simply smiled and told me there was a local McDonalds we could go to. As I wobbled around trying to find my shoes Leon called a taxi. I successfully found one but the other was nowhere to be seen.

"A regular Cinderella, huh?" Leon spoke from behind me.

I turned around and huffed, "It's gone, Leon! Someone stole my shoe! I flailed my arms around for dramatic effect. "Urgh, let's just go, I'll probably never wear them again anyway."

Leon escorted me to the sidewalk and opened the taxi door for me, he suddenly swopped down into yet another bow startling me.

"Your carriage awaits madam." He said in a very regal English accent.

I laughed and swatted him across the head with my hand ad I practically fell into the taxi. I shuffled over to allow Leon room to get in.

"I wonder if Chris and Jill enjoyed their evening." He slurred.

I suddenly leapt up and slapped my hands on either side of his face grabbed him hard. "OH MY GOD, LEON! I TOTALLY FORGOT TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THEM!"

I seized my bag from the taxi floor, along with an empty sweet wrapper which had stuck to the bottom. "Ewww…" I groaned.

I started frantically searching through my clutch bag until I found my phone, Leon casually removed his from his trouser pocket and instantaneously the back of the taxi became illuminated with our phones backlights.

"12 missed calls, 2 from Jill, 10 from Chris and 9 text messages… Oh shit, I think I'm in trouble." I slapped my hands over my face groaning.

"You think you're in trouble? I have 17 missed calls, all from Chris and 8 texts. You don't even want to know what he said…"

"Maybe we should skip the food and head straight back?" I suggested.

Leon looked like he was contemplating this before speaking. "Why should we? We've got nothing to hide and it's your birthday!"

"Mmm technically it's not any more, it's 3 in the morning, and we did say we were going straight home from the restaurant, they might be worried." I sincerely hoped I hadn't worried Chris and Jill too much.

"Oh well, in that case I should probably get you home… But it would be irresponsible of me to send you home hungry so, driver! McDonalds drive thru it is!" He yelled enthusiastically.

I shook my head and chuckled whilst putting my phone away. I'd be gone for hours anyway, what was one more?

"Thanks, man. Keep the change."

Leon turned back to face me and looked me up and down, what a sight I was; hair tattered, one shoe missing and I was surrounded by fries that I had failed to get into my mouth in my ravenous hunger. As I concentrated on not poking myself in the eye with a fry whilst attempting to reach my mouth, Leon spoke.

"I had a great night tonight, thanks. It was good to let loose for once."

I looked at Leon and he suddenly looked more sober, the next thing I knew I was being swooped up bridal style, losing even more of my fries in the process.

"Awww look what you made me do.2 I whined as he strode up the path to the house. I suddenly got a sense of de ja vu.

"This seems to be becoming a habit." He chuckled, his voice reverberating straight through my body.

"Hey! I could have managed on my own!" I retorted, speech slurring slightly. "One shoe or not!"

"Shhh! They'll hear us." Leon whispered.

We giggled like school kids as he placed me on my feet on the porch and put a hand on my shoulder to steady me.

"I had a great night too, thank you, Leon. It's been a long time since I had this much fun, it's been a good birthday considering all that has happened." I smiled up at him.

He smiled back at me for a brief second before the smile disappeared and an anxious look replaced it.

"What's up?" I asked concerned. Had I said something wrong?

"Nothing, it's just I remembered I didn't get you a birthday gift." He shrugged.

"Oh Leon, don't worry I never even thought about it." I rolled my eyes and waved my hand dismissively, unconsciously scattering more of my drastically thinning portion of fries.

"Damn it." I muttered. I was about to bend down to pick them up when I felt two soft but firm hands grasp either side of my face, then suddenly a pair of soft warm lips were placed gently against my own. I stood in shock for what felt like an eternity, staring into Leon's eyes as he gazed at me. He then slowly pulled his lips away from mine and I instantly craved them again. He stayed still and kept his eyes on me as if testing my reaction, never moving his hands from my face. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks and he must have felt it in his hands too. I cleared my throat.

"What was that for?" I whispered.

He looked away for a brief second before removing his hands from my face and shoving them into his pockets.

"Consider it a late birthday present." He shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

I was about to reply when suddenly the door practically flew off of its hinges and a very angry, red faced Chris stood in the doorway blocking the light. He was wearing a vest and boxers; which was unusual for him.

"And what time do you call this?" He bellowed.

Jill stepped out from behind him and placed a hand gently on his arm to pull him back. I noticed she was dressed in only a long shirt, which was also strange for her. Hang on, what was going on here?

"Chris, leave them alone. Come back to bed, we'll deal with it tomorrow." She whispered.

Woah! Holy macaroni! Could somebody rewind please? Did she just say what I think she said? Instantly the awkwardness between Leon and I evaporated as we grinned at each other like Cheshire cats, the plan had worked. Before the situation could become any worse I spoke.

"So I guess you two had a good evening?" My voice laced with a suggestive tone and I added a wink for good effect.

Chris looked shocked for a moment before looking between himself and Jill and realising what it looked like.

"We uhh…" Chris stammered, blushing profusely. Jill stayed uncharacteristically quiet and appeared to melt into the shadows behind Chris.

"No need to explain." Leon said smugly. "We understand perfectly." He tried to stifle a snigger but it came out as a snort and that set me off too. As we stood on the porch laughing to ourselves, Chris puffed his chest out.

"Alright, alright… You go home, Kennedy. Amy, you get yourself inside." He spoke in a voice that commanded authority.

As I hobbled my way inside, one leg being 4 inches shorter than the other, I glanced back at Leon.

"See you later, Leon. Thanks for tonight." I smiled at him, hoping he could see I wasn't too fazed about the kiss.

"Goodnight, Amy. Anytime." He smiled back.

I thought I saw a look in his eye I had never seen before, but I just put it down to being way too intoxicated. I walked inside, kicked my one shoe off and made my way to the kitchen. I heard some muffled voices then the door closed.

"Before you start," I said raising my hands surrendering, "we went for a few drinks to celebrate my birthday. I felt much better on the way home from the restaurant. Must have been a 1 hour bug thing…" I knew my pathetic excuse wouldn't wash with them but God loves a trier.

"We thought you were ill, when we couldn't get in contact with you we were really worried, we thought something had happened to you." Jill spoke in her usual soft tone.

"Yeah, we're sorry about that. We were kinda dancing on a bar around the time you called and sent those messages…" I spoke quickly.

"You were wha-" Chris was cut off by Jill.

"Well as long as you had a good night." She said smiling.

"Oh I did." I smiled goofily. "And I'm guessing you two did aswell, huh? I threw in another cheeky wink for good measure and popped one of my remaining fries into my mouth.

Chris and Jill looked at each other before both racing to get their words out. "We got back early." Chris started.

"When we thought something was wrong with you…" Jill butt in.

"Yeah, yeah." I said dismissively. "I'm just glad you two finally got your act together and got it on. A blind man could see there was chemistry between you two!"

The penny appeared to drop as a look of shock covered their embarrassed faces.

"You set us up?" Chris asked incredulously.

Jill started laughing whilst face palming and shaking her head. "I should have saw straight through it." She said.

"And Kennedy was in on it too?... Why that sneaky son of a –"

"Uhh Chris, it's fine. Look at it this way, they gave us the push that we needed." Jill spoke whilst sashaying her way towards Chris and putting her hands putting her arms around his neck. "Now we don't need to hide our feelings." She smiled at him.

Chris just grunted in agreement and wrapped his arms around her waist before leaning in to kiss her.

"Urghh, please! Get a room!" I shouted.

I dumped my rubbish in the trash and bolted… well stumbled out of the kitchen towards the stairs, tripping on my dress a few time for good measure. As I reached the top of the stairs, Chris shouted to me.

"Hey, Amy! This was your idea; you gotta suck it up now!" It was followed by laughter from the two of them.

I rolled my eyes and made my way to my bedroom, flopping down onto my bed.

"If only you knew what else happened tonight you wouldn't be looking so smug." I muttered to myself smiling before drifting off to sleep.


End file.
